Infamous
by aly's munchkin
Summary: Secrets spread like wildfire at The Doyle School. Put on your seatbelts and hold on tight; you're in for a deliciously scandalous ride.
1. monkey business

When OCD's brother school, Briarwood Academy, suffered from a flood, OCD turned into BOCD

When OCD's brother school, Briarwood Academy, suffered from a flood, OCD turned into BOCD. And when BOCD took in so many students that there was no room left even in the overflow trailers, another school was built across town in Westchester, New York. They named it the Doyle School.

Well, it wasn't necessarily built – it used to be an old church that got shut down in the 1930s for obscure reasons. And now half of the students from BOCD would be transferred to Doyle.

**The Block Estate**

**The Kitchen**

**Sunday, September 23****rd**

**10:09 AM**

One year ago, Massie had stood in the Block Kitchen, angry at her mother for making her miss Spa Day. Today was no different. Except this was worse than missing Spa Day.

Way worse.

"I can_nawt _be deported to Doyle!" Massie gasped, waving the Doyle newsletter in the air. "Mom! Can't you do something about this?"

Kendra Block tapped a finger against her chin. "But sweetie, BOCD is so crowded."

"But it's mine," Massie snapped. "It's _my _school!"

"Massie dear…" Kendra ran a hand over the polished granite countertop. "You can't always get what you want in life. Besides, Doyle is so much bigger than your old school, and I hear that the headmistress is all about decorum, which is what you n – "

Massie turned around and stormed away from her mother, her Ugg slippered-feet stomping against the glossy hardwood floor. She ran up the stairs to the iPad. She had just bought a new pillow pile for her lush purple bed, but the sight of lavender and white cushions sitting on the duvet didn't cheer her up. Still, Massie didn't want to upset the new additions to her bedroom, so she threw herself onto the white milano chaise and began to cry.

Three minutes later, Massie wiped her tears away and picked up her phone. In a few moments, her friends were on the line with her.

"If it makes you feel any better, we're going to Doyle too," Claire Lyons said.

"It does," Massie sniffed. "But still! Doyle is old and unfamiliar. What if – what if the ceiling crashes down on us during fifth period?" She wasn't really worried about this, but she was going to point out everything remotely horrible about Doyle to discourage her friends. If she wasn't happy, they couldn't be either.

"Well, it's a slim chance, and if it does happen we probably won't even be in that class," Kristen Gregory said.

Alicia Rivera sighed. "I'm just happy that some LBRs are staying behind. Ehmagawd, Carrie Randolph was _so _annoying – "

She was cut off by Dylan Marvil's loud belch. "Excusez moi," Dylan giggled.

The rest of the Pretty Committee laughed, but they were silenced by Massie. "Whatevs. Even if the soccer boys are coming along, there are going to be _new students_." Massie paused, waiting for the customary gasp from her friends. "You know…new LBRs!"

"Eww, guh-ross," Dylan whined. "Like we need more of those ah-nnoying wannabes."

"Toe-dally," Alicia said. "Point!"

Massie grinned. She was delighted that her friends would be there for her. But she had a bad feeling about their 8th grade year. She pushed it out of her mind. They were just butterflies. Massie didn't like change ah-bviously, but she could learn to adapt. She always did.

"Let's go shopping," Kristen suggested. "If we're going to a new school, I need a new wardrobe."

Shopping! Oh, how Massie adored shopping. She perked up. "Given! I'll pick you guys up, and then we'll head to the mall."

Massie hit End on her phone, snapped it shut, and tossed it onto her purple bed. She turned on the iHome and The Pussycat Doll's "When I Grow Up" began to play. Massie did a super speedy happy dance. She was _so _ready to take over Doyle.

**The Westchester Mall**

**Juicy Couture – the fitting rooms**

**Sunday, September 23****rd**

**11:13 AM**

"Ehmagawd, that's ah-dorable-times-ten," Massie said to Kristen, who modeled a striped Juicy cardigan.

"You think? I luh-v the color." Kristen spun around and struck a dramatic pose in the three-way mirror.

Two blonde girls with painted toenails walked in, their arms loaded with clothes. They glanced at the huge pile of skirts, sweaters, and pants in the aisle.

"Sorry, but the dressing rooms are reserved for us," Dylan stated with a straight face. She pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and checked her butt in the mirror.

"But we have to – " the first girl started to say.

"Out!" Alicia pointed a silver-ringed finger at the exit.

The two girls hurried out the door. The Pretty Committee cracked up.

Massie sorted the clothes in the pile. "Come awn, time to hit the food court," she told her friends. They grabbed what they wanted to buy and headed out the door to pay.

Moments later, they were strolling alongside the designer stores and on the way to the nearest Starbucks. Massie had almost forgotten about the Doyle School as they ordered cappuccinos and grabbed the nearest table.

"So tell me," Alicia said, cocking her head. A long waterfall of black hair spilled over her shoulder, almost dipping into her coffee. "Are you and Dempsey an item?"

Claire looked over at Massie, whose cheeks had turned red.

"Ugh, no! Why would you say that?" Massie was still blushing, but she managed to conceal it with a confident toss of her glossy brown hair. "He's such an LBR."

"Well, I'm, like, toe-dally sure you were flirting with him on Thursday," Alicia said, zipping her Marc Jacobs satchel open. "It's toe-dally fine if you like him – "

"Which I do _nawt_," Massie said, glaring at her beta. Alicia withered under her defiant stare and quickly shut up. "Even though the boyfast is ah-fficially over, I'm nawt ready for guys. Yet."

"Well, I am!" Dylan said, changing the subject. She dipped a piece of her banana bread into a cup of steaming caffe verona. "I saw Chris Plovert at AMC Theatres last week and we watched _The Dark Knight_ together."

"Ehmagawd, he so likes you," Massie declared. She looked around the table. "Who agrees with me?"

"Eya!" Kristen giggled.

"Huh?" Claire asked, blowing on her espresso roast.

"Aye!" Kristen said, saluting. She lowered her hand. "Can you buh-lieve how ah-dorable Kemp gawt over the summer?"

"Ew, he's _such _a perv!" Alicia said with a sniff of her pert nose.

"An ah-mazingly hawt perv," Kristen giggled.

Massie took a deep breath. Why was everything changing so fast? First, there was that stupid new school. And now Kristen was throwing herself at _Kemp Hurley_? She abruptly gulped down the last of her cappuccino, tossed the cup into the trashcan, and stood up. "Time to hit the shops!" she said, her voice bursting with hope and new possibilities. If she couldn't stop everything from changing, she could at least look good while doing it.

**The Monroe House**

**The Room With a Balcony**

**Sunday, September 23****rd**

**8:12 PM**

"No way," Jacqueline Monroe whispered under her breath. As she grabbed her LG and turned it on, she reread her the screen of her Dell laptop.

**tessa: **first kiss (:

"With who?" Jackie demanded as soon as Tessa picked up.

Tessa sounded as if she was eating rice. "It was this guy named Chris at soccer camp. Do you know what our song is? 'Thunder' by Boys Like Girls. _Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer…_"

Jackie twirled a thick lock of hair around her finger and waited for Tessa to finish singing. "Were his lips gooey? I hear that can spread the flu or something." Jackie had a thing for germs.

"Sorry, I don't kiss and tell," Tessa giggled.

"You just told me you kissed him!" Jackie laughed. "No, really."

Tessa sang, "_Do you know you're unlike any other_?"

Jackie sighed. Tessa wasn't going to say anything, but she didn't need to. Jackie peered at The Doyle School newsletter, which had come in the mail just today. She would be going to Doyle with Tessa and a few other of their friends from their old school, BOCD. The Doyle School just felt _wrong. _Not that it was a bad school; Jackie was sure it wasn't. But it didn't sound right. It seemed unfamiliar, new. BOCD had been filled with her friends' memories. Rapping with Tessa in the annual talent show, cracking up during lunchtime in the Café, logging onto Facebook during computer class with Aly, texting Skye in the middle of science…

Jackie stood up from her seat the desk. "Hey, Tessa, I'm leaving now," she said.

"Smell ya later," Tessa said jokingly as she hung up.

Jackie put on a jacket and boots and headed out the door of her home, a two-story beige house. It screamed boring. Or rather, it said it in monotone. She picked up her messenger bag along the way, slamming the door behind her.

It was dark outside, the air warm and slightly crisp. Jackie went out every once in a while on a walk with Tessa and their other friends Skye Brookfield and Aly Parker. They usually passed by Massie Block's house and dared each other to pull some flowers off a well-groomed shrubbery or throw some pebbles at her bedroom window. (But Massie never seemed to notice that three girls were tossing small rocks at the pane. Or maybe she ignored it.)

Tessa was sitting on the steps of her Spanish-style home when Jackie arrived. "Come on, time to torture Massive Blockhead," Jackie said. She shoved her hands deep in the pockets of her cashmere cardigan, knowing full well how lame they were to do this kind of stuff to Massie. But the girls didn't like her very much (obviously). What else were they going to do? Diss her in public? No way. They might as well commit social suicide.

Tessa jumped off the steps and emerged from the shadows like a villain in a mystery movie. Tessa had wavy, dark hair and a small frame. Her tiny build was emphasized in the glowing moonlight. Two white wires snaked out of her jacket pockets and into her ears. Her iPod. She was never without it.

The two girls began walking down the quiet street. Jackie pulled out a can of shaving cream from her messenger bag. "I'm thinking of what we should write on the lawn. But I'm worried her parents might see us home."

"Don't worry, I've got it covered." Tessa pulled four black ski beanies out of her pockets. "We can go incognito."

Jackie grinned. "Smooth. I like it. We're getting better at this." She dropped the shaving cream back into her bag and they continued walking toward Skye's place.

When they got there, Skye was sitting on the porch tying her shoes. "God. Stupid Foot Locker. Why did I buy these things anyway?" She jumped when she saw Jackie and Tessa. "Eek! You almost gave me a heart attack." Her curly brown hair fell in a curtain across her face as she stood upright.

"Too bad," Tessa said jokingly.

Skye pushed her. "Come on, let's go. Before the dog comes along and starts humping your leg." The three girls hurried down the driveway, the porch light dimming.

"So, what's new?" Skye asked, blowing a bubble with her Orbit gum.

"Tessa had a fling at soccer camp," Jackie said, making it sound as if it were the headlines for _The Westchester Times._

"I did n – "

Tessa was cut off by Skye. "No way! With who?"

"His name is Chris," Tessa smiled. "Chris Plovert."

**The Block Estate**

**The Front Lawn**

**Sunday, September 23****rd**

**8:29 PM**

Aly pulled the beanie over her dirty blonde hair. "I'm going to have hat-hair after this," she said, but was laughing as the four girls tiptoed onto the Blocks' front lawn.

"Shhh! We don't need her catching us! We might go to Juvie and have to get tattoos," Tessa whispered.

Skye giggled. "I want a ladybug tattoo on my pinky toe."

"Let's get down to business!" Jackie whisper-sang from the Mulan movie. But she was serious, too. "All right, Aly, what did you bring?"

"Old panties from Mrs. Yurtz," Aly replied, brandishing a black Hefty sack. "I told her I was donating undergarments to homeless children."

"We're so badass," Tessa said, taking out the shaving cream.

"I'm going to _encumber _them all over the lawn…" Aly paused to let the word 'encumber' sink in. "…and then when she wakes up in the morning and looks out her window, BAM!"

The others cracked up and got down to work. Aly reached into the Hefty sack with some barbecue tongs and laid them out on the finely-mowed green lawn. Tessa drew a circle around it with the shaving cream and made an arrow pointing to it that said: YOU JUST GOT PANTY'D!

The girls started laughing all over again, but they heard a rustling nearby and they all threw themselves into the bushes.

"I am hiding in the bushes of Massie Block's house," Jackie said. "I have officially sunk to the lowest level there is."

They waited, their breaths still, their hearts in their throats, until the coast seemed clear.

Tessa plucked a leaf off her shoulder as she rolled out. "I think there was a rat in there – "

"Eh. Ma. Gawd."

The air was still. Skye, Tessa, Jackie and Aly emerged from the shrubbery, frozen. They didn't dare turn their heads. There was only one person in the whole wide world who would say "Eh. Ma. Gawd" and have a tiny black pug wearing a jewel-encrusted collar.

**(AN: -eyes dart back and forth nervously-**

**Okay, I'm super self-conscious about people looking at my work. And I did this at like 9 PM at night with Tessa badgering me on AIM – haha, just kidding Tessa! – which doesn't sound that bad since all you experienced writers wake up at 2 AM to post a thought-provoking oneshot on FFnet filled with emotions and depth. But, hey, I'm new. Sort of.**

**CREDIT GOES TO TESSA FOR EDITING! Ha. See? I wrote your credit in Caps Lock, bby! Okay, now I'm sounding like Aly.**

**This is turning out long…well, Skye, Aly, Tessa, and Jackie are real life people! Or, they were based off them anyways. :P R&R!)**


	2. something's got to give

AN: The titles of the chapters will be named after Marilyn Monroe movies

_**AN:**_ The titles of the chapters will be named after Marilyn Monroe movies. She is my favorite actress in the whole wide world :)

The Doyle School

**The Hallways**

**Monday, September 24****th**

**9:03 AM**

The Doyle School looked like a place that used to be dusty and old and dark, but it wasn't. Everything was clean, and there was a statue of St. Catherine in the courtyard. Doyle also seemed like a place where the students wore uniforms, but that wasn't the rule. There were a pair of wrought-iron gates that had been opened, allowing the new students in for their first day of school.

Jackie found herself getting lost wherever she went. She felt like a sixth grader again. Now she was spinning her locker combination, but _it wasn't opening_. She was going to be late for class and without her books.

"Here's how to do it," a male voice said. A hand reached over and in a matter of milliseconds her locker was open. Jackie looked up. It was Dempsey Solomon.

Jackie thought of Dempsey as Bigfoot or Yeti – everyone was fascinated with him, and he was hardly ever seen. Except while Bigfoot and Yeti were hairy monster things, Dempsey did charity work and donated to the poor and started all the food drives for the homeless. He was the guy that traveled to slums in Mongolia or Bombay during the summer while everyone else went to their holiday homes in Italy or Hawaii.

"Uhh…yeah." Dempsey crinkled his brow. Jackie still wasn't saying anything.

"Th-thanks," she managed to say. She coughed and roamed blindly around inside her locker.

"No problem," Dempsey said. "I'm Dempsey."

Jackie nodded. "That's coo," she said. _Oh my God, she did not just say 'coo'! That was the type of thing Tessa said! Except when Tessa said it she didn't even mean it!_

"And you?"

Jackie gulped. "Jacqueline," she said. 'Jacqueline' sounded sophisticated. She sounded like the type of person who actually had holiday homes around the world and wore 300-dollar shoes and owned a mixed-breed dog.

"Thanks for the locker," she said, and if she could she would punch herself in the face. _It's not like he gave you a locker! He just helped you open it!_

"No problem. Look, I gotta go. I'll see you later." Dempsey slammed his locker, which Jackie realized was next to hers, and disappeared into the crowd.

Jackie sighed and shut her locker. Then she looked down at her books and realized she had grabbed the wrong books.

The Doyle School

**Room 236 – Homeroom**

**Monday, September 24****th**

**11:33 AM**

"Parker, Aly," said Tessa's homeroom teacher Mrs. Coleman. She had shoulder-length blonde curls and violet eyes. She looked fresh out of college.

"Present," Aly said. She was doodling something in her notebook.

"Peak, Stacey," Mrs. Coleman said, marking something off her clipboard.

"Here."

Tessa stared at the ceiling. So far Doyle was boring. Everyone was the same. It was as if BOCD had never existed, even though only half of the school had been deported.

"Plovert, Chris."

Tessa dropped her pen. As she bent over to pick it up, her eyes widened. Plovert?! As in Chris Plovert?! Her first kiss? Her first fling? The boy she hooked up with at soccer camp? No…it couldn't be.

But what if it was?

"Plovert, Chris?" Mrs. Coleman searched the room.

"I'm here!" he shouted from the back of the room. He was snicker-punching Josh Hotz because Dylan Marvil's bright turquoise bra strap was showing through her Tory Burch tank top.

"All right." Mrs. Coleman marked something on her clipboard, too afraid to yell at the boys for making noise.

Tessa kept her eyes on the front of the classroom. She stared at the chalkboard and folded her hands. She pressed her lips together and crossed her legs. Then she uncrossed them. She had to look. I mean, it sounded a lot like his voice.

Tessa picked up her notebook and held it in front of her face and turned around and discreetly as she could.

It was him.

She turned back around, smacking her hip into the side of her desk. Owch. The desk kind of shook and everyone glanced over.

"Tessa?" It was Chris. "What are you – "

"Class, listen up," Mrs. Coleman said. "I will be passing out workbooks today."

Tessa took deep breaths. "I'm going to the nurse's. I don't feel so good," she squeaked, and ran out the door.

The Doyle School

**The Cafeteria – Lunchline**

**Monday, September 24****th**

**12:01 PM**

"So what happened last night? Who were those freaks that vandalized your house?" Alicia asked.

"I have no idea. They ran the minute I appeared. Gawd. Shaving cream is suh-o hard to get out of grass!" Massie paused to drop a banana onto her tray. "These tables don't even have numbers!" she exclaimed as she pulled her friends along her into the lunchline.

"This isn't BOCD, Mass," Kristen said. She held up a mottled-brown green apple and sniffed it. Then she dropped it into her plate.

"Eww, why are you getting that?" Alicia said, pouring some fat-free ranch over her Caesar salad. "It looks rotten."

"It's ripe and juicy. I can tell." Kristen giggled.

"Ehmagawd, should we sit with the soccer boys?" Dylan butted in, sprinkling some shredded cheese on her tofu patty.

"You just want to be with Chris Plovert," Claire giggled.

"So what? He looks soooo cuh-yoot this year!" Dylan exclaimed. She sucked in her tummy. "Did I lose any weight this summer? I went on that cottage cheese diet last week."

"If we're going to sit with the HARTs, we're going to have to sit with Derrington!" snapped Massie. She eyed her clique with a contemptuous glare. "And Derrick and I are nawt on the best terms." She slid her tray daintily off the countery after paying and swept her eyes over the cafeteria. A few losers waved at the Pretty Committee, beckoning Massie to sit with them, but she knew better.

"Ehmagawd, Massie!" shrilled Dylan, "Dempsey just sat with the HARTs!"

"He did?" she gasped. "I mean, um, why would I give a crap?"

"Because you like him, ah-bviously," Kristen said. Massie felt vulnerable. Her friends were _reading _her as if she were the latest issue of _Vogue_! Massie tossed her hair and glared at Kristen, which shut her up. She quickly scanned the room.

"No tables ah-vailable," Massie said. "Guess we'll have to sit with the HARTs. I am nawt doing this willingly though!" she snapped.

Claire bit her nails. "Do we really have to?" she spoke up.

"Yes, Kuh-laire, we do!" Alicia said, although she looked pretty nervous herself. "Massie, I think I see a table over there. Maybe we can – "

Massie shook her head, her dark brown bob sweeping her shoulders. "I don't see any empty table," she said, gritting her teeth.

The Pretty Committee plopped down in the five available seats with Cam, Derrington, Kemp, Chris, and Josh.

"Hey, look, it's our entourage!" snickered Derrington.

Massie glared at him and peeled the sticker off her banana. She didn't really know what to say back, but her killer look seemed to do the trick.

Kemp leaned over the table and slapped high-five with Chris. "I can't believe how many hot girls came to Doyle this year," he said. "_New _hot girls."

Dylan grew red in the face.

"So why are you even sitting here anyway?" Derrick asked Massie. He eyed her derisively. "Missing me already?"

Massie ignored Derrington and turned to Dempsey, who was sitting at the end of the table and talking to Josh. His golden blonde hair glistened under the cafeteria lights, and his iPod-white teeth nearly blinded Massie. She wished Kemp could muh-ove so she could sit next to him. She pulled out her cell phone.

**MASSIE: **hey dempsey whts up?

"No, really," Derrington said, crossing his arms. "I know you want me back. Just admit it already." He smirked.

Massie smiled at Derrington. "I'll admit it when Kemp stops being pervy, hell freezes over and LBRs cease to exist."

The whole table "oooh"ed. Kemp shouted, "I'll never stop!"

Derrick glared. "All the girls love me," he said. "But why not Massie Block? Oh, that's right, because she has no heart."

"Girls do _nawt _love you!" Massie shrieked, losing it.

"Toe-dally," Alicia said. "I mean, they probably haven't forgotten your shorts-wearing phase."

"Ah-greed," Kristen and Dylan chimed.

"They do too," Derrick said, dragging a French fry through a pool of ketchup. "Want to bet on it?"

"Ah-ve course," Massie snapped back without missing a beat. "You flirt with…" she looked around the cafeteria and pointed to three girls sitting in random places. "…those girls and make them fall in love with you in a month." She grinned, proud of herself.

"Done," Derrick said. "If _I _win, you have to be a Derrick-fangirl for one week."

Massie gulped. The thought of being a Derrick-fangirl for even two hours made her sick to her stomach. Massie nodded. "Fine, whatevs. But if none of those girls fall in love with you, you have to be _my _fangirl for a week." She grinned.

The whole table erupted in more "oooh"s. Kristen tugged on Massie's flimsy purple Chloe blouse. "Massie," she hissed, "what are you doing?"

"I'm going to prove that Derrick is a LBR," Massie smirked. "Just watch me."

The Doyle School

**The Cafeteria – Table in the Back**

**Monday, September 24****th**

**12:40 PM**

"Mac 'n cheese has more calories than spaghetti," Jackie said. "I read it in USA Today."

"Where's Tessa?" Skye said, twisting around in her seat like a pretzel. "She's late." She squeezed a bag of Doritos, trying to pop it open.

"No idea," Aly said. "I have a feeling that she's hiding somewhere." She leaned in and whispered, "_Chris Plovert is in her homeroom."_

The three girls gasped. "Really?" Jackie hissed.

"She said not to follow her." Aly bit her lower lip. "I'm sure she's fine."

Skye squeezed the Doritos until she looked as if she was lifting weights. "God, who does the packaging for this?" she gasped.

A pair of warm arms went around Skye's shoulders, snatching the chips out of her hands and opening them for her. "There you go," the voice belonging to the arms said.

Skye looked up and stared into the warm brown eyes of Derrick Harrington.

The Doyle School

**Girls' Bathroom**

**Monday, September 24****th**

**12:49 PM**

"Tessa!"

Tessa stumbled into the bathroom, locking herself in one of the stalls. She had been hiding in Nurse Henrietta's office but she had gotten kicked out for eating too many of the little peppermints at the front desk.

She saw Chris' shoes on the bathroom floor. "Get out of here," Tessa said. "You're in the girls' bathroom." She sat down on the closed toilet seat. This was crazy. This was weird. Seeing Chris outside of soccer camp was just freaky. It was _awkward_.

"Tessa, come on out. What's wrong?"

"You go to Doyle, that's what's wrong!" Tessa said. Geez, the bathroom smelled like crap and burning hair. "And it's just…freaky!"

"No it's not," Chris said, although there was a trace of nervousness in his voice.

"Well, you're popular and I'm not," Tessa said. "So there's no way we can be together." She wiped her nose on her sleeve. "Forget it."

"I won't forget it." Chris stuck his hand under the stall, waiting for her to take it. Tessa stared at it.

"Are you saying…?"

"Yeah," Chris replied. "Let's get out of here before I'm busted."

Tessa giggled and touched his palm lightly before unlocking the door. They walked to lunch together.

_**AN:**_ I apologize to Kendall for not bringing her into this chapter and Aly for not giving her any romance. (Yet.) I promise, the 3rd chapter is when the magic happens. Lol. R&R!


	3. let's make it legal

The Westchester Mall

**The Doyle School**

**Computer Class**

**Wednesday, September 26th**

**10:23 AM**

In seventh grade, Skye, Aly, Jackie and Tessa were big fans of instant message. This year was no different. After downloading AIM, the girls signed in. They all had the same computer class, but they were scattered throughout the classroom so there was no way they could talk face-to-face.

**tessa: **skye tell me!! who did you meet?

**skyepie: **hmm…im thinking if I should tell you :)

**jaybay: **you should we're all DYING of curiosity!

**aly407: **is he cute??

**skyepie: **his name is…

**jaybay: **yeah??

**tessa: **go on!

**skyepie: **derrick harrington :)

**aly407: **you lie.

**skyepie: **no rly

**jaybay: **was he the 1 who opened your doritos for you??

**skyepie: **yup :)

"You know, you shouldn't IM during class."

Jackie jumped and almost screamed. Dempsey Solomon had the seat across from her. She just hadn't seen him over the huge computer.

Dempsey cracked a smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell on you."

Jackie nodded. Her heart slammed out a beat.

**jaybay: **wht do you guys know about dempsey solomon?

**tessa: **he donated like 39803493823 to Africa last year

**aly407: **yummmmmy

**skyepie: **africa is yummy?!

**aly407: **no I meant dempsey

**tessa: **why?

Jackie stared at the screen. Dempsey was way out of her league. Her friends would understand, but would they realize that Massie would capture him before anyone else did? Yes, probably.

**jaybay: **no reason.

She sat back in her seat and watched Dempsey on the computer. His fingers looked almost _sexy _on the keyboard. How was the even possible?! Fingers weren't sexy. They were just fingers. She watched the way his eyebrows were slightly furrowed. She clenched her sweaty fist and punched herself in the leg.

**ds389: **hey, jacqueline?

**ds389: **you can stop staring at me now :

Oh God.

**The Doyle School**

**The Hallways**

**Wednesday, September 26th**

**10:59 AM**

Skye had no idea where she stood with Derrick. After he had opened up the bag of chips for her on Monday, he had written his phone number on her napkin in Italian dressing. It was amazingly weird and cool at the same time.

Derrick made Skye's knees tremble and the back of her knees break out in a sweat. Out of all the girls at school, he liked _her. _The thought made her feel numb. She was pretty sure she had been run over by a car on the way home and had died except she felt like she was still alive. Like Bruce Willis in _The Sixth Sense._

Last night, Skye had sat on her bed with the phone in her hand, punching in Derrick's number and then hanging up before she could. She chickened out at least thirty times, and then she wrote a list of things she and Derrick should talk about once she called him. If only she wasn't such a scaredy-cat.

Now she was making her way towards him. He was rummaging around in his locker. Skye sucked in her breath and walked over. She wondered if her hair was okay. Or if there was anything in her teeth. Well, it was too late – she was already standing in front of him.

"Hey, Derrick!" Skye said perkily. She winced inwardly and went on. "What's up?"

"Well, you didn't call me," Derrick said, wearing a playful pout. "Scared?"

_Yes. _"No. I just haven't found the time. How about I call you tonight?"

"Nah, not tonight. That Kendall McAdams chick is throwing a party." Derrick slammed his locker shut and threw his bookbag over a shoulder. "You want to come?"

Skye nodded. "Sure, I'd love to." She sounded normal now. "Can I bring some friends?"

"No," Derrick said, and Skye's stomach sank, "because I'm taking _you_."

Her tongue lost all of its saliva in a matter of nanoseconds. "Really?" she asked.

"Sure," Derrick said, flashing a bright smile and pulling on a lock of her curly hair. "I'll pick you at at 8, okay?"

"Okay," Skye gasped. Derrick planted a kiss on her cheek before dashing down the hall as the second bell rang.

Skye pulled out a compact and checked her reflection. Her face didn't have tire marks on it. She was, unbelievably, alive.

**The Doyle School **

**Girls' Bathrooms**

**Wednesday, September 26th**

**11:18 AM**

"You have _gawt_ to be kidding me!" Massie shrilled as she stomped into the girls' room with the Pretty Committee behind her. "He asked her out?"

"I _saw _him kiss her!" Dylan nodded. "Right, Ah-licia?"

Before Alicia could replied, Massie whirled around. "Kiss?!"

"On the cheek," Kristen hurried to say. "We all noticed it."

Claire nodded.

Massie's Nars-dusted face slowly turned red. Her friends had just seen her ex kiss another girl! Ehmagawd! They were all staring at her sympathetically. Alphas like her weren't stared at in such a way. They were for LBRs. Massie inspected her reflection in one of the mirrors. "Well, whatevs," she said, trying to sound nonchalant. "He _is _trying to get her to fall in love with him."

"Massie, it's okay if you're upset." Claire patted Massie's arm.

"Upset," burped Dylan. The girls giggled.

Massie stared at the ceiling. "I'm nawt," she said, avoiding eye contact with everyone. After a few moments of silence, she turned back to the PC.

"It's time to lay it down," Massie said, putting her hands on her hips. "Who are the other girls Derrington's sucking face with?"

"Ursula Holt and Kendall McAdams," Alicia said, pulling out her cell phone. "Ursula is in the glee club, SAP, and – "

"What's SAP?" Dylan asked, confused.

"Students Against Promiscuity," Kristen giggled.

Alicia glared at the two of them and went on, "She's part of the Education for Underpriviliged Children group and is the vice-president of E.A.R.T.H."

"Ew," Massie muttered. "She sounds like an LBR."

Alicia handed her her iPhone. "That's her."

Massie glanced at it and wrinkled her nose. Ursula had hair that sprouted up like a mushroom and poo-colored eyes. "Gross. Who's next?"

"Kendall McAdams," Alicia recited. "She's totally new to Westchester. She moved from Thailand. She's does hip hop, ballet, and jazz, and she does Cooking and AP Latin." Alicia tapped something on her phone and a picture of Kendall appeared. Even though her hair was cut close to her face, she looked kind of pretty.

"Ick," Massie said. "I hope Derrington breaks both of their hearts." She rolled her eyes. "Now, I have a plan…"

**Westchester, NY**

**The Brookfield Manor – Skye's Bedroom**

**Wednesday, September 26th**

**7:32 PM**

"Who's Kendall?" Tessa said as Aly dusted her nose lightly. She sneezed.

"Eww! I have Tessa all over me!" Aly giggled.

"I have a sensitive nose, woman," Tessa said, wiping her nose with a tissue.

"No idea," Skye said. "All I know is that I'm in _love_." She stared out the window, eyes glazed over.

"Look what I got!" Tessa said excitedly as she pulled a multi-colored superball out of her pocket. "Awesome, huh?" She grinned at the others, who merely nodded. "Hullo! It's the _coolest _thing. EVER!" She spastically threw it at the wall. It hit Jackie in the gut.

"Hey!" Jackie said.

"Sorry," Tessa giggled. She sneezed again and hurried to retrieve the ball, butSkye grabbed it before it hit anything else. She shoved it under her bed, where she always said spiders lurked--Tessa was arachniphobic, so it always worked. "I'll give it back when you behave," she added, sounding like a kindergarten teacher. The others giggled.

"So who's going with who?" Jackie spoke up. She was twirling herself around on a little stool as Aly used a lintbrush on her skirt.

"What do you think?" Skye sighed. She spun around on her toes and bowed. The others watched in amusement. "I'm going with Derrick!"

"Gee, I didn't even know that even though you mentioned it twelve hundred times," Tessa said. Skye bopped her over the head with a pillow.

"Hey! You messed up my – "

"We're the single gals," Aly interjected, linking arms with Jackie. "_Correct_?"

"Correct!" Jackie belted out in a soprano.

Again, a chorus of giggles erupted. Skye's mom stuck her head through the door as the laughter grew louder. "Girls? I know you're having fun, but could you keep it down?"

"Of course, Mrs. Brookfield," Aly replied, clasping her hands together and looking like a perfect angel.

As soon as her mom left, Skye ran over to her closet. "What should I wear?" she shouted out, forgetting her mom's "be quiet" rule.

"A hot dog costume," Tessa said. "With cowboy boots!"

"You can borrow my lucky underwear," Aly said with a straight face. "Don't worry, the poop stain isn't that big."

Jackie giggled.

"I'm serious, guys!" Skye shouted, throwing open her closet doors. "I need to _dress to impress_."

"Wear something sexy, then," Aly called out. Tessa giggled. "Shut up," Aly said in a deep voice, flicking a piece of lint at her.

"But, _what _should I _wear_?" Skye threw her arms up in exasperation.

Jackie walked over to the closet. "Here, I'll help." She started thumbing through the different articles of clothing. Soon, Skye was dressed appropriately. The doorbell rang.

"Eeek!" Skye shrilled, running in circles.

"Yo-ga breath!" barked Aly.

Skye literally stopped and exhaled. "I should be casual," she said, "right?"

"Right," Tessa nodded. "After he rings two times, you go to the door."

They heard Mrs. Brookfield slam the door. "Hi! You must be Derrick!" Skye's mother chirped.

"Okay, Plan B," Tessa said. "Umm…take a long time to go downstairs!"

"Right. Right." Skye inhaled and nervously checked her reflection.

"Skye!" Mrs. Brookfield shouted. "_Skye! You're boyfriend is here!"_

"Okey dokey, see ya later," Skye squeaked as she bounced out the door.

"What are _we _gonna wear?" Aly asked. Jackie shrugged.

"The usual, I guess."

"Which would be..." Jackie glared at Tessa, willing her to spit out the answer.

"My soccer uniform," she grinned. The others groaned. "What? That's what I wore when I met him."

Jackie rolled her eyes and giggled as she and Aly pelted Tessa with Skye's shoes.

**Westchester, NY**

**Chateau McAdams**

**Wednesday, September 26th**

**8:05 PM**

Jackie held up her fist to knock on the front door, but pulled it away when the chorus of Good Charlotte's _I Don't Wanna Be In Love _blasted out an open window. Someone must have broken a vase, because a loud crash boomed, followed by numerous screams.

Tessa followed behind, wearing her soccer uniform. As much as the girls had tried to tell her how ridiculous it would look, she didn't care.

"Hey, where's Aly?" Tessa looked around.

Aly was bent over a crack in the sidewalk. Her heels was stuck in it. She was struggling to pull it out.

Jackie looked back. "What's going on?"

"I'm stuck!" Aly said. Tessa pounded on Aly's knee, as if that would help.

Jackie pulled on Aly's ankle, hard. "What is in this thing? Here, Tessa, pull on my shoulders."

Tessa grabbed Jackie's shoulders and yanked, setting a cleat-clad foot on her butt for leverage.

"Hey, watch it!" Jackie said, swatting her foot away.

Aly yanked harder. "_Come on,"_ she hissed. She stood upright and pushed some damp hairs off her face. "You know what? You guys go in. I'll be fine. You're missing out. It looks like fun in there." She wiped some sweat off her forehead.

"You sure?" Jackie asked. "You look pretty stuck."

"Yeah! Go," Aly waved them away.

Tessa looked unsure. "Really?"

"Really. Git!"

The two girls waved bye and pushed open the door.

Loud music was playing as the guests mixed and mingled, danced and delighted. Kendall was spotted sitting on the counter, throwing sodas at whoever asked for one. She waved at Jackie and Tessa and threw a Diet Coke and Allie-Rose Singer, which hit her on the head.

Tessa grinned at her surroundings and found herself immersed in the music. She bobbed her head and joined the group of dancing people.

"Everybody put up your hands, say I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love," she sang with the rest of the group.

Being as coordinated as a retarded monkey, Jackie wandered over to where a group of her other school friends--including Dempsey!--were talking. She wedged herself between Gina and Stephanie on the purple couch, angling herself so that she faced Dempsey. _Perfect_. Stephanie was finishing off a joke, and everyone in the group laughed.

Jackie wished she had listened more carefully. She took a deep breath.

"How is everyone?" she chirped, trying to sound articulate.

"Hey!" Dempsey nudged her. "Jacqueline, right?"

"Y-right," Jackie answered back. She had meant to say _Yeah _or _Right _and ended up saying _Y-right _instead. Hopefully they didn't notice. Or thought that she said _Yeah right._

"Here, want a soda?" Gina handed her a root beer. "I hope you like regular." She smiled.

"Regular is great," Jackie replied, popping it open and taking a sip just to show how much she liked it. "Mmm."

"Hey, I have a really funny joke too," Dempsey said. "There are three female explorers in the African jungle: one blonde, one brunette and a redhead."

"A blonde joke? Tsk, tsk," Stephanie giggled.

"Anywayy," Dempsey said, punching Stephanie in the arm. Jackie's insides swelled with jealousy.

"Anyway, this African tribe surrounds them one day and said that they were going to kill them. So they decided to shoot the brunette first. They called out, 'One, two, three' but before they could shoot, she yelled out, 'Tornado!' And everyone ducked down, letting the brunette run away.

The tribe got really mad, but they didn't go after her. They decided to shoot the redhead instead. Just as they were about to kill her, she called out, 'Flood!'. The tribe climbed into the trees, letting the redhead escape.

They decided to shoot the blonde before she ran away. Just as they were about to shoot, she called out, 'Fire!'"

Everyone roared with laughter, and Jackie had to admit it was a pretty funny joke. Actually, the more she thought about it, it _was _funny. So she laughed along with everyone else. This wouldn't have been a big deal, if not for the fact her mouth had been full of soda that moment. Suddenly, she felt something fizzy up her nose, and root beer spurted out. All over Dempsey's shirt.

**Westchester, NY**

**Chateau McAdams – Driveway**

**Wednesday, September 26th**

**9:01 PM**

Aly had been standing outside for an hour. She looked as if she had been stood up or something.

"Hey, babe, where's your girlfriend?" Some guy shouted in the distance.

A girl named Tammie in Aly's biology class trotted up to her, holding a can of Sprite in one of her hands. "Aly, I just want to tell you that whoever blew you off is a total jerk," she whispered, patting her shoulder and giggling. She was probably drunk off soda.

"I'm not being stood up!" Aly said, shrugging Tammie's hand off her arm.

"What's wrong?"

Josh Hotz stood there, in all his glory, his dark curls struggling to escape his NYY cap. Alicia appeared behind him. She wrapped her arms around Josh's waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. She eyed Aly suspiciously.

"My shoe is stuck," Aly muttered.

Josh chewed on his lower lip. "I'll help you," he said. "Alicia, go inside, I'll catch up later."

Alicia pouted. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Aly felt self-conscious as Josh reached down and pulled at her ankle. His grip was gentle, yet firm. A few more tugs, and the shoe was out.

"How did you do that?" Aly asked incredulously.

"Practice," Josh said. "I pull out shoes all the time." He saw the look on her face and grinned. "Joking. Hey, are you going in?"

"Umm…" Aly looked inside. "Actually…no. She was usually the biggest partier out of all her friends, but she was tired and cold and the cold night air had turned her eyes dry. She just wanted to go home and climb into bed.

"Yeah, me neither," Josh said, pulling out his bike keys. "You need a ride home?"

"Really? Uh, sure." Josh knelt down next to his bike, unlocked it and pulled up the kickstand. "Get on."

Aly nervously sat on the handlebars, gripping them until her knuckles turned white. Josh got on the seat and pushed off the ground with his feet, until they were moving. Josh pedaled faster and faster until Aly's hair blew back in the wind.

"Whoo!" she screamed out.

"Letting your hair down, huh?" Josh asked. She could tell he was trying not to move the handlebars that much. Aly lifted up her feet so they wouldn't collide into the front wheel.

"You could say that," she grinned, the cold night air whipping against her cheeks.

"Where do you live?" Josh asked, rounding a corner. Aly slipped and almost screamed.

"Maple Street, last house on the drive," she managed to say, giggle-gasping. She was scared and excited at the same time.

"Sit up straight, or we'll end up in a ditch," Josh said, pushing Aly's back gently with one hand.

"Are you biking with _one hand_?!" Aly screamed.

"I practice," Josh laughed. "Come on, missy."

Aly sat up straighter. "I'm going to fall!" she shouted.

"Not if I catch you!" Josh yelled back. "Come on, we're going to go down this pathway." He pedaled faster.

"It's sloped!" Aly screamed. She had never realized how scary it was until now.

"Pretend it's not," Josh said back. "Hey, you get a front row seat!" They were both laughing and screaming as the bike rolled down the incline at an amazing speed. Less than five seconds later, the bike was on flat land. Josh whirled around another curb, and the bike bounced a little. Aly pulled on Josh's sleeve, shrieking.

Suddenly, they skidded to a stop. Aly fell forward from the handlebars, but landed safely on the driveway of her own home. She took a deep breath.

"You know, I don't like you," she giggled as Josh pulled down the kickstand.

"Really," Josh said, a trace of laughter in his voice. "I couldn't tell." He stepped closer to Aly. Her heart stopped beating, and blood pounded in her ears.

"Really," she said faintly. His eyes were green, like celery.

He pushed back her hair and touched her face with three of his fingers, very slowly. "Aly, right?" he asked.

"Right," Aly stammered.

Suddenly, his cell phone began to ring annoyingly in his pocket. "Ah, sorry," he said, checking the caller ID. Aly would bet a million bucks it was Alicia. "Look, I gotta go back to the party," he said. "I'll see you later, okay?" The mood was ruined.

"Okay," Aly squeaked, watching him disappear into the black throat of their street.

**(AN: Gasp! Kendall, I know you're freaking! You're Derrick's other target! –runs in circles screaming- And YES, Cam was at the party. He just wasn't…talked about. **

**Woot! Josh x Aly forever! Okay, they're probably not going to start dating right away. Maybe…_never_? Lol. And I LOVE the bike scene I did. :**

**THANKS TO TESSA FOR EDITING AND THANKS TO ALY, SKYE, BRIE AND KENDALL FOR THE SUPPORT!**

**Jackie will forever be embarrassing herself in front of Dempsey. Lol. Read and review!)**


	4. the seven year itch

(AN: Ello loves

_**(AN: **_**I can't believe this. I typed up a bunch of stuff for this chapter and then just when I'm about to publish it, I **_**can't find the file. **_**DDD: So my patience has run THIN. LEAVE A NICE REVIEW OR ELSE I'LL KICK YO ASS. Haha! Just kidding about the ass-kicking part. Sort of.)**

Westchester, NY

**Chateau McAdams – Kendall's Bedrooom**

**Wednesday, September 26****th**

**10:04 PM**

"He's Chrispy," Tessa said.

"Excuse me?" Kendall replied. After everyone had gone home, the girls had decided to hang out in Kendall's recently-renovated room and get Cheeto dust all over her loft bed.

"Chris Plovert. As in Chris P. As in Chrispy," Tessa answered with a goofy smile on her face. She discreetly stole the bag from Jackie's lap and shook it, looking for the perfect puff in the shape of an iPod or a heart.

"So now he's an adjective?" Skye said, brushing at her orange-y fingers. She swept some of her curly hair off her shoulders peeked past the closed curtain into the dark night.

"You got that right, yo." Tessa shook the bag some more until Jackie noticed it was gone from her lap and they had a brief tug-of-war over them. Jackie won and shoved a big handful into her mouth, chewing loudly. Tessa elbowed her and sat on her back, jumping up and down. "And our couple name is 'Chrissa'."

"That sounds like a girl name." Kendall crossed her legs, glancing at the puff dust on her sheets. "Ahem."

"Where's Aly?" Skye said, ignoring her.

"I called her, but her cell phone is off," Jackie answered. "I think she went home."

"Omigod, I totally forgot to tell you guys something," Kendall gasped. She stood upright. "I have a boyfriend."

Tessa shook her shoulders. "Tell us his name, woman!" she shouted, not noticing a puff falling out of her mouth and landing on the carpeted floor.

Kendall sighed. "Derrick Harrington."

The room was quiet for a moment. _Very _quiet. _Extremely _quiet. And then Skye quickly scooted off the bed and left the room.

Westchester, NY

**The Sidewalk Near Rosewood Lane**

**Wednesday, September 26th**

**10:15 PM**

"My curfew's in ten minutes!" Jackie screamed, banging on the side of Isaac's (Tessa's brother) car.

No one heard her except Isaac. "Watch the paint job!" he yelled without turning his head.

"Where is she?" gasped Kendall. She waved a flashlight around the street. "Drive slower!" she shrieked.

"In case you haven't noticed, there are sixty million cars honking behind us!"

"Shhh!" Tessa shouted. She squinted toward a girl-shaped figure walking on the sidewalk close to Rosewood. "Skye? _Skye!" _She turned to Isaac. "Yo, put the pedal to the metal!"

Isaac sped up, turning the car closer to the sidewalk. It was, indeed, Skye. She carried her Jimmy Choos in one hand. She barely looked visible in the night.

Jackie leaned over and tapped on Isaac's shoulder. "Curfew. Eight minutes."

Tessa leaned over the car door. "Skye, get in!"

"No," she replied flatly. "I'm busy."

"Are not!" Kendall shouted.

"Am too," Skye shot back. "Now go away."

"Get in!" Isaac shouted. "I'm not shuttling around little girls for the rest of the evening!"

Skye got in. Her shoes looked slightly battered. They decided not to ask.

The Doyle School Math Class

**Thursday, September 27****th**

**11:04 PM**

**SKYE: **bitchbutt.

**DERRICK: **?

**SKYE: **you know what you did.

**DERRICK: **?

**SKYE: **STOP PLAYING DUMB.

**DERRICK: **im not playing dumb. idk what ur talking about!

**SKYE: **cheating bastard.

There was minute-long pause.

**DERRICK: **who told you?

**SKYE: **kendall.

**DERRICK: **oh…so she knows too.

**SKYE: **obviously.

**DERRICK: **it was a bet w/ massie.

**SKYE: **massie block?

**DERRICK: **who else?

**SKYE: **no one else!! ALL I KNOW IS THAT WE ARE OVER.

**DERRICK: **geez don't flip out on me.

**SKYE: **why NOT?

**DERRICK: **…

**SKYE: **thought so.

**DERRICK: **it was a stupid bet.

**SKYE: **you got that right.

**DERRICK: **skye can we start over?

"Miss Brooks?"

Mrs. Elder truly lived up to her name. She was about ninety years old and had a mild case of Alzheimer's. Or amnesia. Either way, she never remembered anything.

"Miss Brookfield," Skye corrected her.

"Of course," Mrs. Elder said. She checked her gradebook. "Are you reading chapter two?"

"I thought we were still on chapter one."

Mrs. Elder sipped her coffee and continued knitting a sweater for her granddaughter, Beautiful Wendy. According to Mrs. Elder, Beautiful Wendy lived in Boca Raton and was a successful foot doctor with a pink house and ten holiday homes scattered around the globe. Beautiful Wendy was all Mrs. Elder talked about. Skye was hoping that they wouldn't be taking tests about her soon.

**SKYE: **…

**DERRICK: **pls?

**SKYE: **fine.

The Doyle School

**The Hallways**

**Thursday, September 27th**

**11:14 AM**

Jackie paused as she noticed Dempsey at his locker, depositing his English and Biology notebooks. (She had his schedule memorized.) She had two choices. The first one was to run away and wing AP French without her textbooks. The second was to grow a pair and face the music.

She chose to run.

Massie almost ran into her as she dashed down the halls. "Watch it!" she snapped, protecting her Juicy purse from dropping onto the floor. She took careful, dainty steps toward Dempsey, rehearsing what she would say.

_Hey, what's up?_

_Hello, Dempsey._

_Hi! How are you?_

"Hey Massie," Dempsey greeted, slamming his locker. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." Massie looked up at him through her eyelashes, a trick she had learned in Seventeen. "You?"

"I'm going to Indonesia for Thanksgiving!" Dempsey said brightly. "Isn't that awesome?"

"Totally," Massie replied. "I think it's toe-dally awesome about the stuff you do."

"Thanks." Dempsey smiled at her, and Massie almost fell down. "You heard about the benefit next week? They're donating all the funds to a children's shelter."

"Really? I'm so going," Massie blurted, even though she wouldn't be caught dead going to lame benefits. "Are you?"

"What do you think?" Dempsey laughed. Massie giggled along with him, twirling her hair around a finger. She wasn't going to ask Dempsey to the benefit with her. She had read in Seventeen that you had to make the boy come to _her. _Which would be happening very soon.

The Doyle School

**Geography Class**

**Thursday, September 27****th**

**11:34 AM**

Jackie swung her feet as she waited for someone--anyone--to take the seat next to her. Did she smell? No. Was she friendly? Yes. Maybe people were just plain _evil _in 5th period History.

The classroom door swung open, and a tall brunette emerged. She handed a paper to Mrs. Higgins, who directed her to take a seat. Anywhere. Jackie stared off into space, wishing to be anywhere but here.

"Hey, I'm Chelsea."

"Huh?" Jackie looked up to see the brunette--Chelsea--sitting next to her. "Uh, hey."

Chelsea smiled. "Are you new here? Because I am. Gosh, I have, like, zero friends here! Can you imagine how terrible that is?! I mean, I had two best friends back home. I was popular there, ya know?" she rambled. Jackie nodded slowly, not really in the conversation.

"Uhh..." Jackie bit the inside of her gum. "You can, um, sit with me and my friends at lunch." _Hopefully the others won't mind_, she thought.

"Really?" Chelsea beamed. "Awesome!" She turned to face the white board. Maybe not everyone was evil.

The Doyle School The Cafeteria

**Thursday, September 27****th**

**12:03 PM**

"Have you heard of Pretty Faces?" Chelsea asked Jackie as they moved down the lunchline past the silver vats of food.

"Huh?" Jackie sprinkled some cheese onto her taco.

"It's a modeling agency I'm going to be in," Chelsea said. She leaned forward to slop some fat-free ranch over her salad. Her dark curls swept across the shoulders of her Marc Jacobs top. "I'm guessing you don't model."

Jackie shrugged, wondering if this was a _very _subtle diss. "I don't model," she said. "I don't have time."

"It's really fun," Chelsea said, eyeing a display of ripe red apples. She reached for one, and then pulled her hand back. "So where are your friends?"

"Sitting at the back table."

"Cool. Let's go!" Chelsea chirped. Jackie had to speed-walk to catch up with her. Chelsea had trackteam legs.

"Hey, I'm Chelsea!" Chelsea introduced herself to Skye, Aly, Tessa and a few other girls. Skye was sniffing the white rose Derrick had had delivered to her fourth period class. "Jakie invited me to sit here."

"Actually, it's pronounced Jah-ckie – "

Chelsea promptly sat down, making Kendall scoot over. "So has anyone here ever heard of Pretty Faces?"

Tessa bobbed her head to "That Green Gentleman" playing on her iPod. She could somehow hear over the music. "Huh?"

While Chelsea gushed about her new modeling career, Kendall tugged on Aly's shirt-sleeve. "Where were you last night? I didn't see you at the party! Did you know I hit like ten people in the face with sodas?"

Aly twisted open a bottle of G2. "I was home."

"Liar. You never miss a party."

"Josh Hotz gave me a ride." Aly bit her lower lip.

"Josh Hotz? He did not. You lie!"

"I swear, he did."

Chelsea leaned over and tapped on Kendall's shoulder. "Have you ever heard of Pretty Faces?"

"I hope you didn't make a mistake, inviting her here," Chrysta Woodside whispered to Jackie. She cocked her head, a waterfall of reddish-gold curls almost dipping into an open cup of bleu cheese dressing.

"She's okay," Jackie said. "She talks a lot about modeling, though." She giggled. "I think we'll survive."

But they almost didn't.

Westchester, NY

**Slice of Heaven – Table 14**

**Thursday, September 27****th**

**7:39 PM**

Tessa crossed her arms as she leaned back. "Okay, if you really wanna know my secret..." She sighed. "I'm afraid of spiders. Happy?"

Chris laughed. "I already knew that."

"What? How?"

"I don't know, maybe it's just that whenever you see a spider you jump on my back and yell, 'Git! Git!' until I kill it."

Tessa glared until she burst out laughing. "Okay, okay. What's your secret?"

Chris fidgeted in his seat. "Uh..."

"Come on," Tessa said in a sing-songy voice. "I told you mine."

"I..." Chris stared at his feet. "I kissed Dylan Marvil."


	5. war and peace

AN: Hello readers

AN: Hello readers! Enjoy the chapter!

**Westchester, NY**

**Slice of Heaven **

**Wednesday, September 27****th**

**7:40 PM**

_I kissed Dylan Marvil._

_I kissed Dylan Marvil._

I kissed –

"Tessa? Are you okay?"

Tessa blinked and stood up. The four words pounded in her head, repeating over and over again, until the syllables seemed stretched far apart. _I kissed Dy-lan Mar-vil. _Tessa picked up her jacket and ran, wanting to disappear into the night.

Westchester, NY

**The Block Estate – Massie's Bedroom**

**Thursday, September 28****th**

**8:03 PM**

Massie swiveled around in her wheeled chair, bouncing across the white walls of the iPad. Dempsey had just IMed her and they had chatted for approximately _sixteen minutes _before he had to leave. Massie thought that was an improvement from their conversation the other day. She reached across her desk and plucked her charm bracelet from a velvet jewelry box. She fastened it around a bony wrist and admired its glimmer. Suddenly, she had an idea. She logged onto her side AIM account.

**beanxoxo: **hey!

**skyepie: **who is this?

**beanxoxo: **katie loft! arent u dating derrick harrington?

**skyepie: **who's katie loft? are u new?

**beanxoxo: **yeah. im just bored and I need someone to talk to!

**skyepie: **oh…right. so whatsup? do u have bergman for lit?

**beanxoxo: **no. anyway how are things with derrick?

**skyepie: **lol r u going to grill me about him?

**beanxoxo: **um no. im just worried.

**skyepie: **? why?

**beanxoxo: **bcuz derrick…he has some commitment problems.

**skyepie: **I figured, since he cheated on me.

**beanxoxo: **oh so u know! you probably shouldn't listen to him. once a cheater always a cheater.

**skyepie: **?

**beanxoxo: **I hear he still likes massie block.

**skyepie: **WHAT?

**beanxoxo: **): Sucks, huh?

**skyepie: **are u sure? where did u hear that from?

**beanxoxo: **a very reliable source. im not allowed to tell you who.

**skyepie has signed off.**

Massie grinned as she exited the chatbox.

Westchester, NY The Doyle School – The Hallways

**Monday, October 1st**

**9:25 AM**

"Guess what, guys! I went to my first photo shoot yesterday – "

"Yeah, that's great, Chelsea," snapped Tessa, putting on her earphones. Her shoulders slumped. "Just great. Now shut up about your Ugly Faces modeling agency."

Chelsea glared at her and yanked at her ponytail. "Geez, Tessa, just because someone dumped you doesn't mean you have to take it out on everyone else!"

"Chris didn't dump me!"

"Hey, Chelsea, why don't you tell us more about your photo shoot?" Chrysta butted in. Jackie gave her a "_why-are-you-asking-her-that_" look. Chrysta responded with eyes that said "_so-they-won't-eat-each-other-alive_".

Chelsea's lips began to flap but no one really heard what was coming out.

"Benefit. Tonight?" Jackie said, ripping the flyer off the wall and waving it in the air. "It'll be fun!"

"I'll come!" Chelsea said, abruptly stopping her photo shoot-chatter.

Jackie's smile faltered a little. "Um. Right. Anyone _else_?"

"Chris and I were supposed to go see a Panic at the Disco! concert today," Tessa said. "But I had to give the tickets to Isaac. So yeah. I guess I'll go."

"Great!" Jackie threw an arm over Tessa's shoulder. "Aly? Chrysta?"

"Yeah, whatever." Chrysta and Aly shrugged.

Jackie sighed and let the flyer drop to the floor. "Okay, it sounds boring. But that doesn't mean it will be. Am I right? Right!"

Chelsea stared at the ceiling before saying, "So, did I mention my photo shoot?"

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Math Class**

**Monday, October 1****st**

**11:10 AM **

Skye unfolded a piece of notebook paper and took out a ballpoint pen. Her cell phone was currently dead, so unfortunately she'd have to pass a note to Derrick. And she wasn't such an expert on that.

_Do you still like Massie? _Skye reread her words over and folded the paper. Without checking to see if Mrs. Elder was looking (it wouldn't matter; she was half-blind) Skye tossed the note at Derrick. It landed right in front of him on his desk. She saw him unfold it, read it, and then write something down.

The note landed in her lap.

_No!! Who told you that?_

Skye uncapped her pen. _Apparently a reliable source. _Toss.

_No way. Me and Massie are over. Okay? _

_Really?_

_Really._

Skye crumpled up the note, which smelled of ink, and smiled at Derrick. He smiled back.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School – Girls' Bathroom**

**Monday, October 1****st**

**8:03 PM**

"It didn't work," Alicia said as the Pretty Committee filed into the girls' room before the benefit. She bent down to adjust a strap on her leopard-print YSL heels.

"How do you know?" Massie asked, pacing the room. If Skye and Derrick had made up, then she would lose the bet. And Massie needed to win. She always did.

"They were holding hands after class," Dylan said, unwrapping a Luna bar that had been floating around in her Balenciaga. She crunched into it, and some crumbs fell onto the green tiled floor.

"I have a Plan B," Massie announced after some consideration. She crossed her spray-tanned arms over her Twelfth Street silk dress and cocked her head, her dark brown side-pony almost coming loose. Her amber eyes glimmered dangerously.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Gym**

**Monday, October 1****st**

**8:09 PM**

The decorating committee had draped multi-colored ribbons along the walls, sprinkling glitter on the floor along with colorful confetti. A donation box embellished with sparkles and fake flowers stood near the doorway, reading, **5 dollars admission fee!** in scribbly cursive.

Massie stuffed a five-dollar bill through the slot and searched the dance floor. "I'll be back," she said, a la Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Pretty Committee giggled.

Massie disappeared into the crowd, the heel of her gold Jimmy Choo almost slipping on a piece of blue confetti. She pushed past a group of squealing LISPs dancing self-consciously to "Shake It" until she found her target.

"Derrick!" Massie smiled.

Across the dance floor, Kristen and Claire linked arms and began to boogie to the song. (Dylan had rushed off to find Chris, and Alicia was trying to persuade Josh to dance with her.) "I love this song!" squealed Kristen. Soccer must have done her some good, because her moves weren't half-bad. Claire gazed out into the crowd of excited Doyle students, the smell of perfume and lip gloss merging together. She wondered where Cam was. She wondered what he was doing right now.

"Claire?"

Claire turned around. It was Cam.

"We need to talk."

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Outside the Gym**

**Monday, October 1****st**

**8:18 PM**

Claire stumbled outside the gym, the cool air meeting her face. "What's up?" she asked Cam. They hadn't spoken in a week. The tension had been unbearable. And yet. Cam had pulled her out of the dance to speak to her. She wished she had pockets to put her hands in, but Massie had forced her to wear bright green Betsey Johnson number.

"I know we haven't…talked in a while," Cam said, staring at the floor. "But…"

Claire started to say, "Yeah," the same time Cam began to speak again. "Oh. You go first." Claire stared down at her black suede kitten heels.

"You know how we've always been on and off?" Cam asked. His cheekbones glowed under the fluorescent lights.

Claire inhaled sharply. Had they been? It was hard to imagine. Every time seemed different. "I guess so."

"Right…and, well…I'm kind of sick of being stuck in this complicated relationship. I don't know where I stand with you, Claire."

Claire sniffed. "Me neither."

"And I like you. But I'm afraid that if things go back to the way they were…it'll become even more complicated."

Claire nodded. There was pressure building up behind her eyes. Had Cam suddenly decided this? Or had he been deciding to cut ties with her for a while now? She didn't dare open her mouth, or she might start crying. She managed a "I understand."

They hugged. Claire breathed in the smell of his Drakkar Noir, knowing this might be the last time she would smell it up close.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Hallways**

**Monday, October 1****st**

**8:33 PM**

The waitress held out a tray of mini-muffins. "Try these!" she chirped, smiling. "They're blueberry!"

Skye peered down at them. "Are you sure?" They looked a little sketchy to her. "Are they okay to eat?"

"Of course." The waitress grinned and shoved the tray farther so that it nearly stuck under Skye's chin.

Skye grabbed a mini-muffin, popped it into her mouth, and promptly lost her taste buds. "Oh my God!" she gasped. "What did you put in these?"

"Oops! They must have switched flour with sugar." The waitress handed her a napkin and fled. Skye wiped her tongue on the cloth, balled it up, and threw it into an empty punch bowl. Her stomach rumbled uneasily. Unfortunately, she had swallowed some of that muffin. Or whatever it was. She pushed her way out of the gym, her Yves Saint Laurent platforms clacking loudly as she stepped outside. The air was cool in the halls, making her feel better. She just needed to get some air. That was all.

Skye staggered down the halls, trying not to fall over. If she did, then no one would find her until, like, two hours later when the dance ended. And she might already be dead from food poisoning. Skye paled and sped up. She regretted her speed, when Chelsea Evans popped out from behind a locker. "Boo!"

Skye gasped and fell on her butt.

"Sorry!" Chelsea giggled, helping her up. "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom," wheezed Skye. "If you'll excuse me…" She swayed past Chelsea and down the hall.

"See ya later!" Chelsea said, waving.

Skye held her hand up in the air, and then dropped it. She was too sick to care. She thought she heard Chelsea click down the hall and back to the benefit. She imagined wobbling into the girls' room and splashing water on her face. She wondered if she was actually doing this. She was stumbling around like a drunk Paris Hilton in stilettos.

She leaned against one of the lockers, wiping some sweat off her forehead. She heard voices and turned her head toward the direction. Inside Mr. Myner's classroom, Massie and Derrick were in there, making out.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Gym**

**Monday, October 1****st**

**8:49 PM**

Tessa grabbed the guy standing next to her and danced him over to Chris and Dylan. She had been watching them the whole entire time, ever since she had arrived. They looked like salt and pepper. Oreos and milk. Amy Winehouse and cocaine. In other words, Chris and Dylan belonged to each other. Tessa studied the way Dylan was only slightly shorter than him, and how her red hair stood out against his. It wasn't fair.

"Uhh…I have a girlfriend," the guy Tessa was dancing with said nervously. He glanced over his shoulder.

"I'll give you twenty bucks to humor me." She made him spin her around. She made sure to twirl in big circles so that the more she whirled, the closer she got to Chrislyn. (She had already merged their names together.)

"Really?"

"Really. If you don't, you'll lose five bucks." Tessa spun around again so that her back was turned against Dylan's. Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" was playing, the loud techno beat banging in her ears. She angled her hips and took a shot, bumping purposely into Dylan.

"Ehmagawd!" Dylan fell straight to the ground.

"Oopssorry!" Tessa widened her eyes and turned around, dancing her partner farther away. "Hurry!" she squealed. "Or I'll deduct five!"

"Sorry, but it's really hard walking backwards through a crowd of people," he grumbled. "Also you're scuffing my shoes."

Tessa glared at him and kept dancing. Then she pulled him in the opposite direction, back towards Chrislyn again.

"What the - ? Why are we back here again?"

"Don't question me!" Tessa growled. She pushed her partner's back into Dylan this time, so that she fell sideways onto the ground.

"Hey, watch it!" Dylan shrieked.

Tessa ran-danced away. She had been in a grouchy mood ever since she and Chris and split up. Normally she would never do something like this – pay someone to help her push a girl down over and over again. But Dylan deserved it. At least, that's what Tessa thought.

She danced her partner back towards Chrislyn, knowing that his girlfriend was glaring at them. She had to act fast before that chick tore her head off. She lifted her leg under her pink Oli dress and stabbed Dylan in the shin with the heel of her strappy Michael Kors heel.

"Owww!" Dylan shrieked. She whirled around and whacked Tessa across the head with her satin clutch. "That's _it_, you crazy ex-freak!"

"Owie," Tessa said, rubbing her head. The nameless boy she had been pushing into Dylan all night scampered away, almost stepping on her metallic heel. "What?! What did I do?" She widened her eyes, trying to look innocent.

Dylan responded by pushing Tessa onto the ground. Hard. She landed on her butt.

"Dylan, what are you doing?" Chris asked, shaking her.

"Go get me some punch!" Dylan shrilled, swatting him away.

Tessa flinched as she tried to get up. Her butt really hurt. So she pulled on Dylan's ankle and watched as she plummeted to the ground for the fourth time that night.

"Ow! Hey!" Dylan rubbed her behind, her nose scrunching up in pain. "Get away from me!" She slapped Tessa's hand away.

Tessa rubbed her palm. "That hurt!" She tossed a handful of glitter at Dylan.

"Eww!" Dylan spit out a mouthful of silver sparkles onto Tessa's face. "Take that, you loser!"

Tessa clawed at Dylan's Julia Haus frock. She heard a loud _RIP. _Tessa looked down. A huge piece of silk lay in her hand. Dylan shrieked and shoved Tessa back.

"Girls!"

Principal Burns marched through the crowd of tittering students and picked them both off the floor. Confetti and glitter stuck to their dresses. "You're both in deep trouble, young ladies!" she barked, her beady eyes boring into theirs.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Mr. Myner's Class**

**Monday, October 1****st**

**8:55 PM**

Massie pulled away from Derrick. "You know, you're nawt going to win the bet."

Derrick pushed some hair off her face. "Why not? I still have two girls under the belt." He grinned.

"Because…" Massie purred. She pointed to the door. Derrick saw a familiar face before it ran away. His eyes widened.

"Shit." He slid off the desk and started for the door.

"Wait! You're going _after _her?" Massie gasped.

Derrick hesitated. "…I guess."

Massie glared at him, her fists uncurling. "When did things get so complicated, Derrick?" she snapped, hopping off Mr. Myner's cluttered desk and snatching her Chloe purse off a chair. "Huh? When did you like this girl? _When? _Tell me!" She stomped her foot. "I'm giving you a choice. _Her or me?_"

Derrick stared at her. "Are you kidding me? You're telling me to choose between you guys?" his hand lingered on the door knob.

"Yes! I am!" Massie snapped.

Derrick opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, and then closed it. "I'll see you tomorrow," he finally said, before slamming the door behind him.

**(AN: Marilyn didn't have too many movies, so I need more names for my chapters. So I'm going to resort to any old movie. : This chapter is named War and Peace, starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Mel Ferrer. Hope you liked it!)**


	6. to have and have not

AN: Read and review :

AN: Read and review :

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – The Steps**

**Tuesday, October 2****nd**

**7:56 AM**

Something was wrong.

The Doyle School was still the same on Tuesday morning. Girls dangling the latest Prada, boys snicker-punching each other and catcalling. Teachers chugging coffee like it was the elixir of life, cliques bunching together in their respective circles.

Except people were staring. At Tessa.

"Omigod, did you see her? She toe-dally looks like, she might be…you know." Deana Marcus, with her new highlights and a pair of drag queen shoes, whispered to Carrie Randolph with her eyes wide and her mouth half-open, a la Gossip Girl.

"What? What are you talking about?" snapped Tessa. She felt naked. "I might be _what_?"

"We all know, Tessa. It's okay." Deana pursed her lips and patted Tessa's arm. "My sister had a pregnancy scare last year. I know what it's li – "

"What?!" Tessa screamed. "Pregnancy scare? What's going on?"

Skye paused, setting a hand on her hip. "You made a mistake. Tessa isn't pregnant. She's not even…_active_."

"Explainthisthen," Carrie Randolph speed-talked, nervously plucking a sheet of Xeroxed paper from her backpack.

"They were all over the school this morning," Deana butted in, twirling some highlighted hair around a hooker-nail. "But the teachers took 'em down before everyone saw 'em."

Tessa snatched the paper from Carrie's dry hands. It was pictures of her leaving Planned Parenthood, reading a book called Teenage Pregnancy: What Happens Next? and buying prenatal vitamins at the drugstore.

Jackie sucked in her breath. "Who would do this to you?"

"Dylan," Tessa growled. She let the paper drift to the floor and took off.

Westchester, NY

**Barneys New York – Cosmetics Counter**

**Tuesday, October 2****nd**

**8:17 AM**

Aly was the most badass of her friends. She was the one who dared to party past 4 AM. The one who had tried on crotchless thong that one time at the adult store. The one who had made out with a tripod during a sugar-high game of Truth or Dare.

And the one to ditch school.

Most of the time, Aly went solo to Starbucks, Bliss, or PinkBerry. She watched movies, tried on shoes, and ate pastries from the closest bakery. That afternoon, Aly stood at the cosmetics counter at Barneys. She examined a container of Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely and sprayed some on her wrists. Aly sniffed. It smelled exotic, like fresh mandarin and orchids.

"Hey Aly!"

Aly turned around. There stood Chelsea, arms loaded down with shopping bags. "I didn't expect to see you here!" Chelsea chirped. "How are you? Doesn't Lovely smell awesome? I think I'm going to buy it!" Chelsea grabbed the container from Aly's hands and dabbed some behind her ears. "So what's up? Ditching school? Me too! Actually, I told them that I'm sick. But I'm really not. It's just that Barneys had a shoe sale today! Did you check it out?"

Aly felt dizzy. "Umm…no. But wow. That's great." She yanked back the bottle of perfume. No way was Chelsea buying Lovely. It was _her _damn fragrance. "I'm fine. You?"

"I'm great!" Chelsea chirped. She checked out a container of Versace perfume absentmindedly. "Do you have Mrs. Gilbert for Algebra? Isn't she so weird?" Chelsea put down the pink bottle and reached for Lovely. "Anyway, I'm going to go pay for this now! I think it's the last one!"

Aly didn't let go. "Actually, I want it. It's my new signature scent."

Chelsea tugged on the lavender bottle, a little more agressively this time. "No, it's mine." Her eyes darkened, and the muscles in the mouth seemed to tense a little. Chelsea glared at Aly, her sharp nails digging into hers.

Aly wasn't the type to back down. She had been seriously deprived off perfume for a while. And Lovely was perfect for her new signature scent. It was _hers_. Aly pulled it back. "I got here _first_."

"It's _my _perfume!" Chelsea's voice level was raising up a little now, and Aly was pretty sure a Barneys saleslady was looking over at them curiously. She pulled on the bottle until the lid popped off and perfume poured out onto the glossy marble floor. Aly dropped the whole thing and the container shattered into a million pieces.

The saleslady thundered over. "What happened?" A thick coat of Chanel gloss sat on her lips. Aly was pretty sure she could use her mouth as a mirror. The saleslady's nametag read 'Iris'.

"She didn't want me to buy that perfume, so she shattered it!" Chelsea gasped.

"That's not - !"

"Ma'am, is that right?" Iris barked.

"Yes! It is!" Chelsea said.

Aly glared. "No, it is – "

"Ma'am!" Iris snapped. "You will have to pay thirty-five-fifty for this perfume, including tax."

Aly's mouth dropped open. "What? No! This isn't my fault!"

"Of course it isn't, ma'am." Aly wanted to smack Iris for calling her that. She wasn't a freaking old lady with horn-rimmed glasses and a bad perm. "Now, I need to know what your guardian's phone number is."

"I'll pay the money!" Aly growled, digging around in her wallet. Chelsea mouthed something over Iris' bony shoulder, looking regretful. Aly turned around and left Barneys, her flats pounding against the hot sidewalk.

Chelsea caught up with Aly outside. "I'm so sorry about that, Aly!" she cried. "I can't pay for any more perfume! I'm saving up for my grandmother's birthday. It's her last one before she dies of cancer. She's terminal."

Aly paused. "What? Are you lying?"

"No," Chelsea said, shaking her head. Aly was pretty sure she was crying now. She almost felt bad.

Aly sighed. "I'll talk to you later." She walked away.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Cafeteria**

**Tuesday, October 2****nd**

**11:55 AM**

Tessa had spent all morning stomping around. During soccer in PE, she had pushed Allie-Rose Singer down more than twice until Coach told her to step out of the game. For art, Tessa had made a little mood piece that she called "Anger" and splattered it with blacks, reds, and browns.

She had looked everywhere that morning for Dylan Marvil – but unfortunately she didn't have the same classes as Tessa. But now it was lunch. And she was angrier than ever. She was prepared to throw Thai food and make a scene. She was expecting to be dragged out of throw with her ear or something – but Dylan deserved every piece of khao soi that was going to be thrown at her. Tessa almost cackled out loud as she busted open the mahogany doors to the cafetera.

Something squishy and wet fell onto her head. Tessa looked up, but all she saw were a mess of tiny orange things, getting into her eyes. She heard laughter from every part of the cafeteria, from the nerds to the jocks to the emos to the theater freaks.

And the Pretty Committee.

Tessa wiped her face. Fish eggs. She felt sick. They had been sitting in a bucket attached to the door, ready to pour down on her when she walked in. The anger evaporated into pure humiliation. She realized Dylan was standing by the door, her eyes glimmering. Tessa figured Massie had something to do with this.

"Thanks to us, you're done now," Dylan purred, grabbing Tessa's arm and tightening her grip on it. "From now on, don't mess with my boyfriend."

"This is low, even for you," Tessa mumbled, trying not to get any caviar into her mouth. "Especially the pregnancy rumor." She narrowed her eyes into slits, not to appear bitchy, but to keep the tears from spilling over.

"I didn't start that," Dylan cooed. "Whoever did is truly worthy of my time." She leaned in. "You tell anyone about this little prank and you'll pay." She smirked and lifted her shoulder slightly as she strutted away. Laughter rocked the cafeteria, pounding in Tessa's ears.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Chapel aka Assembly Hall**

**Tuesday, October 2****nd**

**1:09 PM**

Principal Ross wore Perry Ellis dress shirts that coordinated with his tie. He was slightly overweight. His hair was a mousy brown, slightly askew on his head. (The toupee was obvious. Too obvious.) He had spent the last twenty years being the principal of an only-boys school in New York. He was planning to retire early, get some golfing done. Unfortunately, that would not be happening anytime soon.

Jackie, Skye, Tessa, Aly, Kendall, and Chrysta were spread throughout the chapel in different pews, as they all had different periods at the moment. Jackie found herself seated next to Dempsey, of all people. He hadn't said anything about the little episode at the party. She was glad he didn't.

Although her palms were getting _extremely _sweaty.

Principal Ross turned on the mic. "Testing? Testing, one two three." The mic squealed with feedback. "Anyway." He held on to his belt like a cowboy. "Recently, there were rumors about a certain student at Doyle, which are completely untrue."

"Yeah, right," muttered Erin McCarthy to her knee-socked prep friends. "I can totally see her baby bump already."

"I know," Rita Santos whispered back to her, adjusting her pink and white argyle socks. "I hear she was throwing up during lunch in the bathroom today."

A chorus of "ewww"s filled the pew for a moment before Principal Ross went on.

"These are lies, and we would like the person who started this rumor to please step forward," Principal Ross said.

Tessa, sitting in the back of the church wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat stolen from the Lost and Found, hunched down in her seat. She opened her cell phone and found one new text message.

From Chris.

**Chris: **I cant believe what u did 2 dylan.

Tessa gasped. She quickly typed back:

**Tessa: **what did I do 2 her?!

**Chris: **well for 1, you did beat her up at the benefit. which got her in2 trouble.

**Tessa: **she started it. srsly. and why am I even talking to u??

**Chris: **god tessa im so SICK of this.

**Tessa: **sick of what??

**Chris: **this jealous thing u have going on!!

**Tessa: **I AM NOT JEALOUS.

**Chris: **please. just lay off.

**Tessa: **…

Tessa hit the Power button and stuffed her cell phone into her favorite Marni satchel. She would not listen to Chris do this to her_. _Tessa pulled down her hat, ducked down low, and escaped into the back exit.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Room With a Balcony**

**Tuesday, October 2****nd**

**2:46 PM**

**massiekur: **omg dempsey im sooooo sorry that I ditched u at the dance!!

**ds389: **ha. its fine.

**massiekur: **no!! its not! we HAVE to go to that party at the bastille hotel!!

**ds389: **rly? u serious?

**massiekur: **yeah! it's a party for some new clinique thing. u HAVE to come with me!

**ds389: **sure. sounds like fun. anyone else from school going?

**massiekur: **I think the pc is going and some people from school. it's a pretty fancy party :D

**ds389: **sounds awesome, see u there.

Massie giggle-clapped and signed off. She scooted back the chair and danced around her room, twirling her arms in the air like a ballerina.

Claire Lyons looked up from her algebra workbook. Massie was dancing in her room as if no one was watching. Except someone _was _watching. Claire giggled and called Massie's cell phone.

"Hey, Massie?"

"Yeah?" Massie sounded out-of-breath. Claire ducked down behind her desk and hunched under the drawers.

"What are you doing right now?"

"Umm…homework."

"No, you're dancing. What happened?"

"Oh-kay, I'm _nawt _dancing." Massie paused before letting out a rare, squealy giggle. "Ehmagawd I'm going out with Dempsey to Allie-Rose Singer's birthday party!"

"Really? That's great." Claire fingered one of the jewels encrusted on her phone.

"Yup," Massie sighed. "Ehmagawd. Can you buh-lieve that girl who tried to steal Chris Plovert from Dylan?" she asked in a hushed voice. The Inner Massie was gone, replaced with the usual gossiping Outer one. "I toe-dally can't! And I'm suh-o proud of Dyl for doing the caviar spill!"

Claire pursed her lips. "It was a little mean."

"Puh-lease, Claire, these newbies get more viscious each year. We have to stay on top." Massie plopped down on her bed. "So what's up with you and Cam?"

"We broke up. Officially. And I think he's eyeing that redheaded girl." Claire stared at the ceiling.

"Kuh-laire, of course he would be! He's a boy! You know what? You suh-eriously need to get a new fabulous dress for Allie-Rose's party. We'll go shopping tonight, 'kay? It's not as crowded at the Westchester as it is during day."

"Sure." Claire chewed on her lower lip. "Maybe…I could meet someone at the party!"

"Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" Massie encouraged. "Trust me, you'll have hooked up with someone by the end of the party!"

Claire thought. "Maybe I will," she murmured. "Maybe I will."

**Westchester, NY**

**Chateau Brookfield – Front Door**

**Tuesday, October 2****nd**

**3:39 PM**

_He helped me unload_

_My piano_

Skye was lying on the couch eating chocolate yogurt.

Being one of many chocolate lovers, she almost never had any Choxies or Hersheys or Godivas stored away in the cupboard. She resorted to chocolate yogurt every once in a while.

The doorbell rang. Skye got up and shuffled to the door. She was thinking it might be the UPS guy. Her sister was ordering one of those boob-grower things.

It wasn't the UPS man. It was Derrick.

_Oh, why here it's so-so  
but it is no, no Colorado_

Skye leaned against the door before opening it. She counted to ten without breathing, whirled around, and turned the doorknob before she changed her mind.

_I miss my home and the cocoa  
I wanna go home..._

"Skye, I'm so sorry." Derrick held out a wilted rose.

The gesture was sweet. Yet pathetic.

_He kept in tempo and I said bravo  
He picked the dearest notes that gave me thoughts of sweet hope_

Skye stared at him. She clenched her can of yogurt.

_So I unpacked soap, found my bathrobe  
And decided it'd be nice to sit and soak_

"It's just that Massie came in and totally started acting really freaky – "

"Get off my property!" Skye yelled.

_And then I played him oh a favorite concerto  
He yelled profundo while I played allegro_

"What?"

"I mean it! Tessa's dad is a lawyer! I'll sue!" For a finishing touch, Skye threw her yogurt at Derrick like a B-list actress on some crap TV show.

_Oh, why here it's so-so_

_Yeh, there is no place no, no place quite like your home  
Yeh, there's no place no, no place quite like your home_

Derrick stared at Skye. He dropped the rose, its petals already on the ground, and walked away.

**(AN: The song is "So-So" by Brooke Waggoner.**

**The movie is **_**To Have and Have Not **_**starring Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.)**


	7. tonight and every night

AN: So who watched 90210 the other day

AN: So who watched _90210 _the other day? I think it's an okay show – not the best, but whatever. I really don't like Annie, she's so perfect and peppy. Naomi is my favorite character. I love the part when she slapped Ethan. BTW, the guy who plays him is so not _90210 _material. Not that I've seen the old one, but he just doesn't seem hot enough. He looks like he always needs to pee or something.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Girls' Bathroom**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**2:03 PM**

"_Ehmagawd_!"

Alicia Rivera sat in one of the stalls in the girls' room. Thankfully, the stall was big enough to fit the rest of the Pretty Committee.

"Who does she _think _she is?" Massie growled. "What a suh-lut!"

"Ah-greed!" Dylan said. She dug around in her Fendi Spy and handed Alicia a tissue. "Breathe, Leesh."

Claire put an arm around Alicia. "Maybe it's not true. It could just be rumors."

"Puh-lease. I hear Aly's friends with that boy-stealer Tessa!" Massie leaned against the door, crossing her spray-tanned arms.

Kristen, Dylan, Alicia, and Claire gasped. "No way," murmured Kristen.

"Coincidence? I don't think so!" Massie snapped, her eyes daggers.

Alicia started crying all over again. "How could he? How could _she_?"

Claire patted her arm reassuringly.

The girls were silent as someone entered the bathroom and turned on the water. Massie leaned down and peered through the door. "Ehmagawd. I recognize those flats." She kicked open the door.

Aly whirled around. "Oh, you surprised me," she said, pumping hand soap into her palm.

"Whore!" Alicia choked out, her face blotchy and red.

"What?" Aly wasn't sure she could hear right. "Huh? Did you just call me a…whore?" What was going on? Why were they even talking to her?

"I hear that you _did the nasty _with Josh Hotz last night at Nora Watson's party!" Massie barked. "Nora told me herself!"

Aly backed up against the sink. "I swear, I didn't! Why would I do that?"

"Because you're a big fat tramp!" Alicia screamed. "Just so you know, Josh is my boyfriend!"

"I know that! But I – "

"But what, huh? Explain, puh-lease!" Dylan shouted.

Kristen nodded in agreement. "Tell us why you stole Aly's boyfriend! Are you jealous of them?"

Fear flashed in Aly's eyes. "No!" she yelled. "I wasn't even at that party. I swear. I don't know who started that rumor!"

Alicia studied her face. "You're lying!" she shrieked.

"Ugh, she is!" Kristen agreed.

Claire chewed on her thumbnail.

"We're going to make you pay!" Alicia sobbed.

"Ah-greed," Massie answered coolly. "Let's go, girls."

The Pretty Committee filed out of the bathroom. Aly stayed behind, shaking. She knew they had dumped fish eggs on Tessa. What would they do to her? She leaned against the cool white tile wall. No wonder everyone had been staring and pointing.

Well, at least the spotlight was off Tessa. Aly tried to remember what Massie had said: _…did the nasty with Josh Hotz at Nora Watson's party last night. Nora told me herself. _Aly packed up her things, trying to ignore the words ALY PARKER IS A SKANKY SLUT on the bathroom wall.

Westchester, NY

**The Westchester Mall - Miss Pretty **

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**3:59 PM**

Miss Pretty was an independent boutique, nestled in the depths of the Westchester. Although it didn't even exist on the mall map, girls managed to find the Miss Pretty store on the second floor of the mall, hiding behind the Chanel boutique. Inside, smooth silks and satiny fabrics swished. Tall wiry girls who looked like _Vogue _models stood on tiny stools, twirling around as dressmakers pinned and tucked, needles swooping like free birds. Fashionistas nodded in approval, girls sighed dreamily, lovestruck.

It being a school day, Miss Pretty was nearly empty. A girl who looked exactly like Coco Rocha except the nose stood on a stool in a cotton candy-pink gown, almost molded to her body. She didn't look like a customer, more like a supermodel hired to stand there and lure customers in.

"Omigod. That's so beautiful!" shrieked Skye, momentarily forgetting her manners. The saleswoman, a lady with a pointy button nose and glossy hair in a tight bun walked over. Her nametag read _Olivia_.

"May I help you?"

"Do you have any formal dresses?"

"Why, yes." Olivia led them over to a rack of silky gowns, more beautiful than a swan in the sunset. "How about these?"

"They'll do." Jackie tried not to drool.

Kendall burst through the door. She knelt over, panting. "Sorry I'm late," she wheezed. "I just came home from Thailand. Don't make me smile. My lips will crack in half."

Skye loaded her arms with dresses. "Thanks, I'll go try these on," she giggled, following Monica into the dressing rooms.

Kendall put her hands on her hips. "Where is everyone? We were supposed to all go shopping today."

Jackie chewed on her lower lip. "It's a long story. Let's choose out our dresses for the party tonight."

"At the Bastille Hotel, right? I can't wait! It's going to be so fancy and fun and sex-ay." Kendall bumped hips with Jackie, nearly sending her falling to the ground. "So who's Derrick's latest girl-hurl?"

Jackie giggled. "I think that Ursula girl keeps crawling back to him," she said. "But Skye broke up with him. She won't tell us why."

Kendall cocked her head. "I don't want anyone's sloppy thirds anyway," she said with a sigh. "I just wish he wouldn't play anyone like that."

"To each his own."

Skye poked her head out from behind the pink curtains. "What?"

"Nothing." Kendall draped a slinky dark blue number over a sunburned arm. She waited until Skye's mop of curly brown hair disappeared again. "So what'd I miss while I was gone?"

"A lot. Like I said. It's a long story. With caviar."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

Skye threw back the heavy curtains as she appeared, admiring herself in the three-way mirror in a short black dress, with lace swathed around the bodice.

"Ew. You look like a tranny mess at a funeral." Jackie winced. Skye threw a high heel at her, giggling, and disappeared back behind the curtain.

"Anyway." Kendall glanced at a buttercup-yellow gown and put it back on the rack. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing much."

"So how are things with Dempsey?"

"What? Who? What are you talking about? Isn't that a lovely painting?" Jackie broke out into a cold sweat, looking everywhere except Kendall.

"I'm talking about Dempsey, you fatbutt! Everyone knows you like him." Kendall giggled. She winced and touched her lips. "Owww."

Jackie shrugged.

"He's going to be at Allie-Rose's party," whispered Kendall. "You can get to know him there." She winked.

Jackie nearly pushed Kendall into a shoe-tower. "Stop i-i-t!" she giggled.

"Yes way. All fair in love and war." Kendall held up a pointer finger like a nerdy professor.

Jackie giggled.

Skye appeared in front of the mirrors again, in a graceful red dress with slits down the side, which were perfect for showing leg cleavage. "How do I look?"

"Like Jessica Alba!" shrieked Kendall, running toward Skye and whirling her around. "Every gay guy at the party's gonna want to get a piece of you!"

Skye yanked her hand back. "You think?"

"And look at your boobs!"

Jackie giggled into her wrist.

Westchester, NY

**The Bastille Hotel**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**8:11 PM**

"Ehmagawd. This looks ah-mazing!" squealed Massie. She revealed a long, tan leg from her elegant Zac Posen frock as she exited the cab and tossed her newly re-colored hair over one shoulder. "Come awn Leesh!"

"I'm suh-o nervous," Alicia said. Although her eyes were red-rimmed, she still looked gorgeous in an emerald-green Anna Sui dress. "I wonder if Josh will duh-ny it."

"He won't. He's way too good of a guy," piped up Dylan. Her Louboutin almost fell off her foot as she scooted out of the limousine.

"Really?" Alicia smoothed down her hair, which was straightened to perfection. Her red nail polish glittered in the light of the cameras. "Ehmagawd, I can't buh-lieve Allie gawt cameramen for this party!"

"It's going to be in Teen Vogue!" squealed Kristen. She slammed the door behind her, her beige low-cut Marc Jacobs dress blowing against her legs.

"Really? Omigod! How is my hair?" Claire squirmed behind Massie, her borrowed pink Betsey Johnson number glimmering.

"Calm down, Kuh-laire!" Massie said. "Just smile and wave." She pasted on a fake smile and began to walk into the hotel before she caught sight of Dempsey leaving another limo.

"Ehmagawd! It's him! You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." Massie almost stumbled on the train of her dress as she hurried toward Dempsey.

"Hey! You're here!" Massie giggled, slipping her hand into his. He didn't pull away. He smiled at her.

"Yeah. Wow. Cameras. What are they doing here?"

"Oh, it's just a magazine…thing." Massie giggled and ducked past the photographers. "Come on, it's time to get this party started." She pulled Dempsey past the glass double doors.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Bastille Hotel – Banquet Hall**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**8:15 PM**

"Omigod, you look awesome!"

"Where's the Chardonnay?"

"This party is fabulous!"

"Is that Lauren Conrad over there?"

Lights shined down onto the marble floor as the partygoers danced under the huge crystal chandelier in the Bastille. An orchestra played an Italian waltz as champagne glasses clinked together. Girls in couture dresses and boys in handsome Armani suits filled the banquet hall, laughing, mingling, and dancing. Allie-Rose had done an excellent job.

A waiter carrying a tray of two champagne glasses filled with pinot noir. Tessa grabbed a glass and sloshed it around without drinking. She had managed to drag herself out of bed to attend Allie-Rose's party. But it had been too late to get a ride, and now here she was alone in the banquet hall without her friends.

Dylan and Chris entered the room, their arms linked. Tessa drew in a deep breath, trying not to look at them. The pain was too much to bear. But for now, she wasn't going to whine and emo around. She finished off the champagne, plunked it down onto the nearest tray, and left the banquet hall.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Bastille Hotel – Ballroom**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**8:23 PM**

While Dylan was checking out all the food in the banquet hall, the rest of the Pretty Committee was in the ballroom. A melancholy Tristan and Isolde piece was playing. Massie and Dempsey moved along to the music. Massie felt as if her heart was in her throat. She thought she saw Derrington watching them with that Ursula nerd hanging off his arm. Good.

"You're a really good dancer," Massie giggled. She looked down at Dempsey's feet and almost tripped.

"Sorry," Dempsey apologized. His green eyes stood out remarkably under the chandelier lights.

"No, it's fine." Massie blushed and looked over his shoulder. Alicia was chasing Josh around the ballroom. Kemp was trying to feel up Kristen. Claire was hanging out with Layne. Massie realized Dempsey had stopped moving.

"What happened?"

"The song is over," Dempsey said. He let go of her hands.

"Oh. Right." Massie giggled nervously. "Save me a dance for later!" she called out before hurrying off to find Claire.

Across the room, Alicia stumbled after Josh. "Josh!"

Josh turned around. "Leesh, I need to talk to you. That rumor is totally untr – "

Alicia slapped him.

The whole ballroom was silent.

"How could you?!" she screamed before turning around and storming out the French doors.

Josh touched his cheek. It felt numb. Had it been Alicia's long fingernails? Probably. People were staring.

Alicia bobbed away, until she was nothing but a speck by the French doors.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Bastille Hotel - Elevator**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**9:01 PM**

The glossy, reflective elevator doors to reveal Dempsey Solomon standing in there.

Alone.

Jackie's stomach sank. Could she pretend that she hadn't been about to walk into the elevator? Well, it was the only available one. Besides, it's not like Dempsey was going to eat her.

Jackie averted eye contact as she stepped in. She prayed someone would walk in after her, someone who could keep her from saying something weird and awkward. But no one came in. She slammed into the Close button with her palm.

"Hey." Dempsey looked like Chace Crawford in his suit and tie. In other words, he was hot enough at that moment to be a staggering _eleven _on the one-to-ten hotness scale.

Jackie smiled nervously. She wiped a sweaty palm on her dress. She tried to remember what floor the party was on. Her mind was fuzzy.

The elevator stopped. Jackie straightened up and began to walk out the door. Dempsey grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"It's stuck."

"What?" Jackie panicked, running a hand over her dress. It would be so embarrassing if it were stuck in the back of her underwear.

"The elevator. We're trapped."

Jackie's panic disappeared. Then it skipped back up again. She pressed the Open button with her clammy palm. "What? That can't be! Where's the alarm-thingy?"

Dempsey pushed down on it, and a ringing sound filled the air. Jackie sat down on the marble floor. She realized that the ceiling was reflective. Dempsey sat down across from her, hands in his lap. "Soo…"

"So." Jackie looked down at her new Louboutin platforms. "What's up?"

"Nothing much."

Silence.

Jackie crossed her legs uncomfortably. "Umm…do you have Mr. Holman for Theatre Arts?"

"Yeah. He's awesome." Dempsey smiled. "You notice he twitches his eye at anyone who wears leopard-print?"

"Ugh, no wonder." Jackie let out a rare giggle. "I wonder what's up with that."

"Maybe he encountered a leopard in the woods one day – "

"A magic leopard – "

"That cast a spell on him that said he'd never be able to get rid of his nose hairs again."

"Omigod. You noticed that too?" Jackie gasped, sitting up straight. "It's like a jungle in there!"

Dempsey laughed. "We should buy him nose clippers for his birthday."

"And some leopard-print parachute pants."

Dempsey cracked up this time. Suddenly, they heard a noise outside the door.

"Guess we're saved." Jackie stood up, brushing her knees off. Her eyes met Dempsey's for a moment, and he smiled at her, a genuine smile that made her feel like she was sinking into a pile of soft pillows made out of swan feathers.

_I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship_, Jackie thought in her head (a la _Casablanca_) as the elevator doors glided open.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Bastille Hotel – Room 120**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**9:37 PM**

Claire dropped a handful of ice cubes into a towel, bunching it up as a DIY ice pack. Claire's shared room with Massie at the Bastille reminded her of the Palace of Versailles – a lot of lace, intricate designs, and silk. Claire sank into her king-sized bed, next to Josh.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." Claire could see he wasn't. There was a long red scar down his cheek. "I'll just say that I got this in a fight with a rabid dog." He cracked a smile and took the ice pack.

"Sure," Claire giggled. "Everyone will believe you." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "So I'm guessing Alicia didn't take your explanation well?"

"Please, she didn't even hear it." Josh paused. "Can we not talk about…her?"

"Okay."

There was a long, drawn-out silence. The only sound was the ice cubes crinkling.

"You know what's weird?"

Josh turned to Claire, so their eyes met. Claire sucked in her breath, trying not to faint from his beauty. Even with a big red mark on his face, he was still gorgeous. "Yeah?" Claire inched closer.

"That rumor going around about me and that Aly girl. I can't even think about who started it. Whoever did must hate me. Or Aly."

Claire nodded. "Uh-huh." She scooted closer, smelling his Ralph Lauren cologne. "I get it."

"You do, huh." Josh grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. "Remember when you kissed me?"

"Yeah." Claire's stomach did a flip or two. "And then you stalked me for the longest time."

"I wasn't stalking." Josh leaned forward. "I was…" his voice trailed off as he took Claire's face in his hands and kissed her.

Claire was surprised, but then she realized she had been wanting it. She kissed Josh back, the ice pack rolling out of her lap and onto the floor. The same time it did, the door opened and Aly walked in.

"Oh my God."

**(AN: So how did you guys like this chapter? :D Review!**

**Oh, btw, if you want to be a cameo just put it in your review : Thanks! **

**This chapter is called **_**Tonight and Every Night**_**, starring Rita Hayworth and Lee Bowman.)**


	8. wait until dark

Westchester, NY

**Westchester, NY**

**The Bastille Hotel - Entrance**

**Wednesday, October 3rd**

**9:43 PM**

After catching Claire and Josh together, Aly had run down three flights of stairs until she got a horrible wedgie and into the lobby and out the door. And now she was standing next to the doorman outside of The Bastille. The paparazzi had disappeared on account of the fact that Paris Hilton was having a bitch-fight with Nicole Richie at some club in Manhattan.

Aly shivered. The chilly October weather gave her goosebumps. She paced the brushed-clean cement with her thoughts. She had three options. A: Confront Josh and Claire.

There was a problem with that because of the rumor going around that Aly was a slutburger and Josh was a cheating man-ho and it would be very awkward.

B: Tell Alicia. After all, she deserved to know. A mere half hour after she had dumped her boyfriend, he had kissed one of her friends. But Josh might be mad – no, he _would _be, and so would Claire.

C: Ignore it and hope it all goes away.

Excellent.

Aly's cell phone buzzed noisily as she started to go back in.

**SKYE: **where r u?

Aly took a deep breath, snapped her phone shut and disappeared through the glossy revolving doors once again.

Westchester, NY

**The Bastille Hotel - Elevator**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**10:02 PM**

Tessa never expected that an elevator ride would take so long. She never expected that Chris would get in with her, alone. And she never expected that they would be making out within seconds. He had been a total buttmunch to her, and here she was sucking face with him!

_Whatever. Who cares about morals?_

Chris ran his hands through her hair, pressing her up against the elevator wall. Weren't there cameras in there? Well, they were certainly getting an eyeful. Tessa snaked her arms around his neck. The elevator halted to a sudden stop.

"Shit," Tessa squeaked. Through her makeout session with Chris, her shoe had fallen off. She bent down to retrieve it, escaping Chris' grasp as Allie-Rose with a group of her pastel-dressed friends emerged through the elevator doors.

"Ehmagawd Tessa! You look suh-o puh-retty!" shrieked Allie-Rose. Tessa smile-nodded and smoothed out her dress.

"Happy birthday," Chris offered weakly. Through the tangle of hideous evening dresses and fake hair extensions, he found Tessa's hand and held onto it.

Tessa appreciated this gesture. But why was she holding hands with her ex? It was absolutely uncalled for. _Shame on you._

"Thanks, Chris!" Allie-Rose chirped brightly. Chris let go of Tessa's hand as he left the elevator. He looked back as he disappeared behind the reflective gold doors.

"Ehmagawd. He is so into you!" shrieked Katie von Wheaton.

"No way. Is he? Well, we'd look ah-dorable together." Allie-Rose giggled. She looked back at Tessa. "No offense, Tessa."

"None taken." _I just made out with him. Take that._

"If only Dylan broke up with him. I would suh-o go after Chris!" Allie-Rose said.

"Ruh-eally?" gasped Dana Woods.

"Ruh-eally," nodded Allie-Rose.

Tessa didn't want to listen to their poo anymore. She pretended as if the 34th floor was where she was going and pushed past them and into the lobby. As the doors closed behind her, she bumped into Chris.

"I was waiting for you," he whispered, and kissed her.

Westchester, NY

**The Bastille Hotel – Banquet Hall**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**10:10 PM**

"I just had the most ah-mazing idea," Massie blurted out to Kristen and Dylan. She clinked her champagne flute to get their attention.

"What?" Dylan asked, perking up. "Ehmagawd, are we going to get revenge on Tessa?"

"You ah-lready bathed her in fish eggs, Dyl," Massie shot back, lowering her glass. "This is about my future with Dempsey Solomon."

"Ehmagawd. What?" giggled Kristen, trying to force Kemp's hand out from under her dress. "_Kemp!_"

Massie rolled her eyes. "Kuh-risten, quit acting like a slutburger and start paying ah-ttention!"

"Sorry!" Kristen squeaked, straightening up.

"That's better," Massie smirked. "Okay, so I want you to tell Dempsey to meet me in my hotel room by midnight. Tell him that I'll be waiting."

"Ehmagawd Massie! And you call me the slutburger!" Kristen giggled.

Massie smiled. "What, a girl can't have fun?"

Dylan giggled. "Are you going to lip-kiss him?"

"No, I'm going to show him my socks." Massie tipped her flute towards her mouth until every last drop of champagne was gone. "_Of course _I'm going to lip-kiss him, Dylan!"

Dylan twirled around in her seat as Chris approached the table and sat down next to her. "Snookums, where were you?" she asked.

"Umm…just…uh, yeah, getting some food," Chris said, peering into his champagne glass suspiciously.

"I hope you're up for some alone time with me," purred Dylan, slipping a foot out of her Jimmy Choo and running it down Chris' leg. "Want to go up to our room?"

"Slutburger!" coughed Kristen.

"Uhhh…actually I think I need some more shrimp. See ya." Chris scooted back his chair.

"Promise me though," Dylan pouted, tugging on his sleeve. "My room, a half hour?"

"Right. Sure. Bye. The shrimp calls." Chris scurried away.

"Ehma_gawd_. Is everyone lip-kissing everyone tonight?" Kristen asked. She met Kemp's eyes and giggled, blushing wildly.

"The answer to your question is yes," Massie said with an eye-roll. She spotted a dark-haired girl walking by and yanked on her dress. "Hey you! Tell Dempsey Solomon to meet me in my room by midnight. Okay?"

The girl stared at Massie. "Dempsey…Solomon?"

"Der!" Massie had run out of patience already. "Go!"

The girl turned around and dashed out of the banquet hall, trying not to get stepped on by the other partygoers. She leaned against the wall. Someone rounded the corner. Dempsey.

"Jackie?"

"Hey!" Jackie straightened up. She smiled at him, the words trying to push themselves out of her mouth and also wanting to stay in. "Ummm…you want to…get out of here?"

"Uh, sure!" Dempsey sounded surprised. "Yeah, this party is kind of boring anyway. Let me go get my coat."

"Great, great." Jackie glanced down the hallway toward the familiar bob of brown hair, trying to keep her dinner down.

Westchester, NY

**The Bastille Hotel – Room 101**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**10:28 PM**

Dylan eyed a bottle of champagne of Chardonnay sitting on the dresser. She popped the cap off and sniffed it. Hmm, sweet. She poured a glass for her and another for Chris. Dylan couldn't wait for her first real lip-kiss – one that didn't involve another girlfriend in the mix, one with true feelings and deep emotions. Dylan had even slipped on a Stella McCartney chemise that was sheer and white and practically see-through. She didn't even look fat in it!

_Knock, knock._

"It's Chris."

"Come in!" Dylan called out, setting down the champagne bottle. Chris entered the room, slipping off his jacket.

"Hey, Dyl."

"Shhh," Dylan whispered, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it with her hips cocked. She had seen an actress do this in a movie. She handed Chris one of the glasses, pushing him onto the bed and sitting into his lap. She felt perfectly slutty. And she liked it.

"Look – "

"Save it." Dylan lay a finger across his lips. She felt proud of herself. She was acting so seductive! "Don't…say…anything." She kissed Chris, setting her untouched glass of Chardonnay onto the nightstand.

Chris lay there as Dylan kissed him, feeling lower than poo. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't just push her off and tell her that he had just made out with his ex less than thirty minutes ago! This wasn't some cheesy show. It was reality.

Dylan pulled back. "Do you love me, Chris Plovert?" she whispered, a curl of red hair falling over a shoulder and gracefully touching his chest. "Do you love me?"

Chris blinked. He had not been expecting that. He opened his mouth and closed it. Time was ticking. The longer he stayed quiet, the more suspicious Dylan would get. He didn't know who he loved. He was confused. He was frazzled. He just wanted to hang out with his friends and forget all this. But he couldn't. He had a choice, and the right one was pretty obvious.

"I love you, Dylan."

Westchester, NY

**The Bastille Hotel – Room 120**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**11:29 PM**

Massie twirled her amethyst David Yurman ring around her pointer finger. She hadn't really expected Dempsey to show up thirty minutes early, but punctuality wouldn't hurt. Maybe the girl she had delivered the message to hadn't really delivered the message at all? No, that couldn't be it. No one dared to disobey Massie Block. If they did, they had a death wish.

Massie crossed her legs, her pointed Christian Louboutin stilettos falling onto the carpeted floor. She noticed a soggy ice pack sitting on the mattress. She rolled her eyes. The Bastille Hotel was _supposedly _one of the best hotels in all of Westchester. She tossed the ice pack into a trashcan and gazed out the window. She waited.

Westchester, NY

**The Bastille Hotel – Room 164**

**Wednesday, October 3****rd**

**11:34 PM**

"I've wanted to see you all night," murmured Josh as he took Claire in his arms. His arms wrapped around her waist, their lips meeting. Claire had been feeling paranoid the whole night. She was afraid Aly might tell everyone about how she had seen her and Josh kissing. But Alicia hadn't spiked her drink or tore her dress. Alicia was suspiciously MIA.

Claire relaxed in Josh's arms, her dress wrinkling under her legs. She sighed contentedly, her hands running through his dark hair. "I love you."

"How cute."

Josh and Claire jumped in surprise. Chelsea was standing in the open doorway, hands on her hips.

Josh dropped his arms, mouth open.

"Well, aren't you two just adorable," Chelsea said sweetly, batting her lashes.

Claire blushed. "Please don't tell Alicia."

"Of course I won't," Chelsea cooed. "If you'll excuse me, I need a word with Claire." She nodded at her.

Claire gulped. "Don't tell anyone," she whispered into Josh's ear. He nodded and left the room. Claire had an idea what was going to happen. She guessed Josh did too.

After the door slammed, Chelsea stood in front of Claire, towering above her in a pair of Fendi platforms. "Little Claire," she said in a syrupy voice. "When I said I wouldn't tell anyone about your little tryst with Josh, I meant it."

Claire sighed. "Ehmagawd, tha – "

"Unless you do something in return for me."

Claire gaped. "_Blackmail_? No! I won't do it!" She stomped her foot.

"Really? Are you willing to change your answer?" purred Chelsea. "Because I have something here that might help." She held up her cell phone and pressed Play.

"I've wanted to see you all night," Josh said on the recording.

"I love you." Claire's voice.

Claire paled.

"Sounds like you two to me," Chelsea sneered, pressing Stop.

"Fine! I'll do anything!" Claire sobbed, tears running down her face. Guerlain mascara smeared her cheeks. "What is it that you want?"

Chelsea stepped forward, her voice husky. "Get me into the Pretty Committee."

**(AN: If you haven't already guessed, Chelsea spread the rumors about Aly and Tessa.**

**And yes, she is based on a real person. **

**This chapter is called "Wait Until Dark" starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, and Richard Crenna.)**


	9. this woman is dangerous

Westchester, NY

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School - Cafeteria**

**Thursday, October 4****th**

**12:06 PM**

"I can't buh-lieve he didn't show up," Massie muttered for the thirty-fourth time that day.

"Ehmagawd, we get it!" Alicia snapped. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, as if she had been crying all night. She was, however, wearing a new Anna Sui dress. Retail therapy?

Massie shot Alicia a _look _and pretended not to hear her beta. "I stayed until one in the morning! Ugh! And I know that he wouldn't just blow me off." She narrowed her amber eyes into slits, her mascaraed lashes sticking together.

"What an LBR," agreed Dylan halfheartedly. "Anyway. Who wants to hear about my night with Chris?"

"Ehmagawd! Tell!" shrieked Kristen.

Massie stabbed a fork into the center of the table. The silver tip wobbled for a moment before holding still. It, too, seemed afraid of Massie Block. "Listen up," she growled. "We're taking down that bitch who forgot to deliver the message! Or maybe she didn't want to." Massie sat back in her chair.

Alicia nodded obediently. Dylan and Kristen agree-sighed.

"Where's Kuh-laire?" snapped Massie, spinning around in her chair. Claire was approaching their table with a tall, pretty brunette. Massie eyed the new girl – her hair seemed conditioned and she was wearing a pair of Marc Jacobs flats she had seen at Neiman's last week. Massie plastered a smile onto her face.

"Hey Kuh-laire! Who's this?"

"Everyone," Claire said, her voice cracking, "this is Chelsea Evans."

"_Bonjour_," Chelsea greeted, sliding into a seat next to Dylan.

"You speak French?" asked Massie, leaning forward on her elbows. "I've always wanted to learn."

"Oui," Chelsea spouted. "I spent a semester in Paris."

"Ah-mazing!" gasped Alicia. "How was it?"

"Merveuillex," said Chelsea, smiling mysteriously.

"Chelsea, um, does modeling. For a small modeling agen – "

Chelsea lay her cell phone out onto the table. Its glossy silver screen intimidated Claire. She gulped. "I mean, a big modeling agency. Pretty, was it?"

"Pretty Faces," Chelsea snapped with daggers in her eyes. "Get it right."

Massie beamed. Chelsea had that alpha-quality. The way she glared at Claire, the eye-rolls she delivered every time an LBR walked by. Even the way she ate her Asian turkey wrap. Massie was impressed.

"Chelsea, how would you like to come shopping with us after school?" Massie asked.

Chelsea raised her eye brows. "I'll have to check my schedule." She flipped through her cell phone. Claire heard Chelsea mutter, "manicure on Tuesday," "facial at Bliss," and "dinner party tonight". She knew it was all an act for the Pretty Committee. Her stomach clenched and she looked over at Josh, who appeared to be looking right back at that very moment.

Massie heard too. She smiled. "Busy schedule? Same here. I'm going to a Luella fashion show tomorrow night. _Such _a hassle." She rolled her eyes playfully.

"I can make it," Chelsea said, putting down her cell phone next to her lunch tray. "I just have to leave early. I'm having dinner with Cory Kennedy."

"What?!" gasped Kristen. "She's ah-mazing! I love her pictures."

Chelsea sighed. "Whatevs. Like Macy said, it's such a hassle."

"It's Massie." Massie seemed even more impressed by Chelsea now, for some reason. "Everyone gets it confused, y'know. Anyway, shopping will be ah-mazingly fun. But we need to plan that bitch's demise now." She leaned in, not caring if Chelsea was interested.

Chelsea cocked her head. "What bitch?"

"Some girl who didn't tell Dempsey to meet me in my room last night at Allie-Rose's party," Massie explained.

"It's a conspiracy," Claire muttered under her breath.

Massie ignored her. "Should we dump calimari on her head or something? Like we did for Less-a?"

"We need to get original," suggested Dylan. "How about you get a really hawt boy to ask her out?"

"Ehmagawd, genius," Kristen nodded.

"No way," Chelsea spoke up. Every eyeshadowed-eye turned to look at her.

"What?" screeched Alicia, dropping her plastic fork.

"That's suh-o unoriginal," Chelsea sneered. "We need to bring this up a notch."

She leaned in on her elbows, Massie-style.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Cafeteria**

**Thursday, October 4****th**

**12:14 PM**

Kendall pretended to pick her nose. "Have you heard of Pretty Faces?"

"She's gone! Hallelujah!" cheered Tessa. She mimed popping open a champagne bottle.

"Yeah, but she's sitting with the Pretty Committee," Skye said, looking suspicious. "What do they see in her?"

Jackie pretended to listen to her friends, but she was really more interested in what had happened to Tessa last night at The Bastille. She had thought Tessa wasn't going, but Jackie had briefly glimpsed her in the ballroom.

Jackie pulled out her Nokia. **I SAW U AT ALLIE-ROSE'S PRTY LAST NITE. WHT WER U DOING THER?**

Tessa glanced under the table and typed back, **I JUST DECIDED 2 COME 4 FUN. GUESS WAT HAPPENED?**

Aly looked around the cafeteria for Josh, but Alicia's big head was obstructing her view. Alicia saw Aly, and she flipped her the bird. Aly's cheeks heated with anger and embarrassment.

Jackie texted back a simple **?**

Tessa took a deep breath. **I KISSED CHRIS. **She pressed Send. Jackie always kept her secrets. She was the only one who knew who had _really _spilled chocolate milk on Mrs. Berliner's blouse, the only person who knew that Tessa had farted in class that one time and blamed it on Remy Snipper who always smelled like blood. She was the secret-keeper.

**OMG! RLY! **

Tessa nodded at Jackie back from the table. **I THINK WE MIGHT BE GETTING BACK 2GTHER.**

Tessa shut off her cell phone when she spotted Chris walking towards her. Her dark eyes widened and she uncrossed her legs, getting up.

"Hey, Chris," she greeted, feeling nervous. Would he kiss her in front of the whole school? Would he hug her? Give her a grandma peck? Whisper sweet nothings into her ear? Hold her hand?

He didn't do any of those things. Instead, Tessa heard a loud, happy giggle-shriek from behind her. Dylan Marvil ran towards Chris and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and giving him a pornographic kiss on the lips.

And Chris kissed her back.

Westchester, NY The Westchester Mall

**Thursday, October 4****th**

**2:54 PM**

"Ehmagawd! You look ah-dorable," gasped Kristen. Chelsea wore a floor-length Marchesa frock. She filled it out perfectly, her long dark hair complimenting the light color.

"I knowww," Chelsea said with a hair-toss. She turned around and glanced over a tan shoulder. "I love it."

"Ehmagawd, I wanted that," Alicia giggled, tugging at the dress.

"Hands off." Chelsea slapped Alicia's hands away, her eyes dark. Alicia backed away.

"Geez, sah-rry," Alicia said, frowning. She disappeared into a dressing room.

Claire gulped. All day she had wanted to tell Massie about the blackmail. But if she did, then she'd suffer the consequences. Claire fake-smiled at Chelsea. "You look like a model, Chels."

Chelsea tossed her hair and glanced in the mirror for the fourth time since she'd put on the dress. "I'm getting it, then." She lifted it over her head and tossed it carelessly into the "Accepted" pile. "Guess which boy I'm eyeing."

"Don't say Josh Hotz!" Alicia said from behind the dressing room door.

"Ehmagawd, cool your jets. I'm not." Chelsea rolled her eyes. "You know who's the hawtest? _Cam Fisher_." She looked at Claire with a smug smile as she said this. "Kuh-laire, is it okay if I go after him? I _really _need your blessing." She batted her eyelashes.

"Umm…" Claire noticed Chelsea's cell phone poking out of her purse. "It's fine. Cam and I broke up a while ago." She stared at the floor.

Massie stared curiously at Claire, but she avoided looking at her.

"Awesome." Chelsea gave Claire a secret smirk. "I've had the huh-yugest crush on him since last month."

"I heard he likes that redhead, Chrysta?" Alicia supplied.

"Ugh, she's friends with those two bitches Jackie and Tessa," spat Chelsea. "And Aly too. He'll neh-ver like her."

"Ehmagawd. You hate Less-a too?" Dylan asked, perking up. "She toe-dally tried to make out with my boyfriend Chris." She smirked. "But she's run out of luck. Chris and I had the buh-est lip-kiss last night."

"Ehmagawd! You didn't tell us." Kristen bounced over to Dylan, a skirt and a cardigan falling out of her hands and plopping to the carpeted floor.

"Less-a. Love it." Chelsea sneered and pulled on a pair of silk shorts. "And that Aly chick? I heard she toe-dally hooked up with your ex!"

"She did," Alicia said, getting a little teary-eyed. Claire handed her a Kleenex. Alicia sniffled into it. "That's why I dumped him. And now I need revenge on Aly."

Chelsea smiled. "I'll be happy to help."

Westchester, NY

**Jackie's House – The Kitchen**

**Thursday, October 4****th**

**8:32 PM**

An Italian waltz was playing as Jackie examined the slices of bread sitting in front of her. She was in the kitchen with Tessa and her 4-year-old brother Brandon. Jackie liked to turn on music when she cooked. Tessa wouldn't call making a sandwich _cooking,_ but Jackie made it so like she was frying up an imporant dish of haute cuisine.

"Apples," Jackie demanded.

Tessa handed over a slice of thinly-chopped apples. Brandon shoved a crayon up his nose.

"Do your homework," Jackie ordered. She lay out an array of skinny apple slices onto the bread with love. "Ham."

"Will you quit making your sandwich. I have to tell you about me and Chris!" Tessa said, sounding like a 3-year-old.

"I'm listening." Jackie slapped a few slices of ham onto the bread.

"Well – "

Tessa was cut off by her phone. She sighed, grabbed it, and flipped it open. NEW PICTURE MESSAGE, the screen read. FROM UNKNOWN. Tessa wrinkled her brow and clicked View.

She saw a picture of Dylan and Chris kissing outside of The Bastille Hotel. The picture dated back to last night. Dylan was wearing Chris' jacket over a skimpy white chemise. Tessa's eye twitched, and she dropped her cell phone. It split into a million pieces.

"I wanna clean that up!" Brandon yelled, powering up the vacuum and sucking up Tessa's cell phone.

Jackie looked up from her sandwich. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Tessa sniffled. "Nothing. Are you going to eat that sandwich?"

Westchester, NY

**The Rivera Estate – Alicia's Room**

**Thursday, October 4****th**

**9:04 PM**

"God. You're so hot," Kemp whispered into Alicia's ear. He reached over and yanked her Marc Jacobs shirt over her head.

Normally, Alicia wouldn't be caught dead with a slimy creep like Kemp. But he was the perfect distraction ever since her breakup with Josh. Even though Alicia planned on getting Josh back, she wasn't exactly going to do that right away. Besides. She was dying for some action. And Kemp had given her exactly that last night at Allie-Rose's birthday party. Alicia knew it was slutty, but it wasn't slutty as long no one knew.

Alicia kicked off her leopard-print Yves Saint Laurent shoes as she ran her manicured fingers through Kemp's hair, the silky sheets wrinkling underneath her. Kemp kissed excellently. It was like he was spellling out words with his tongue as he made out with her, Alicia thought as she pulled his shirt off.

"I thought you were with Hotz," Kemp whispered as he kissed Alicia's bare shoulder.

"Shut up." Alicia guided her legs out of her True Religion jeans and threw them across the room.

"I like a woman who's in control," Kemp purred into her ear.

"I said, _shut up_," Alicia snapped. She reached down to undo Kemp's belt.

Someone knocked on the door. "Hello? Leesh? I thought we were going to the Prada show." Chelsea's voice rang throughout the room.

"Shit," Alicia whispered. She planted her hands on Kemp's drool-worthy chest and shoved him off the bed. "Get dressed," she urged.

Kemp tugged his shirt over his head. "Let's get together later," he said. "My house. Midnight."

Alicia liked how he was so self-assured. "'Kay. Don't go through my panties, you sicko."

"Promise I won't," Kemp grinned. Alicia rolled her eyes as she flattened her sex-mussed hair and hurried out the door.

"Who's in there?" Chelsea asked.

"No one," Alicia answered quickly. She slammed the door behind her. "Come on, let's go."

**Westchester, NY**

**The Monroe Residence – Kitchen**

**Thursday, October 4th**

**9:23 PM**

Mrs. Monroe lifted the meat hammer and pounded down on a slab of raw red beef. "You need an extracurricular. Doyle is far too competitive. It would be so embarrassing if you got pulled out. Just imagine what Mindy would say during book club!"

Mrs. Monroe spent most of her days caring what people thought of her. One little mishap meant a horrible scandal. Which also meant Mrs. Monroe would go into cardiac arrest. Or get an aneurysm. Or a heart attack. Whatever it was, the Monroe family was all about image.

"I mean, Doyle is going to be one of the top schools in New York!" Mrs. Monroe went on. "I read it in Time."

Jackie looked up from her homeade burrito. "There's community service.," she mumbled. "I think they have one opening left." She sprinkled opened a pack of shredded cheese.

"Only one opening?" Mrs. Monroe pounded the meat aggressively.

"I guess a lot of people think Doyle will be a top school too." Jackie's wavy hair swept over her face as she rolled up the burrito and set it aside on a glass platter.

"Well, I say you take that spot in E.A.R.T.H. It's very helpful to go green."

"Sure, Mom," Jackie said. She rolled up another burrito. Why not? Jackie mused. With a bunch of homeless people and poverty everywhere, Jackie figured she might as well start helping out. Jackie grabbed a burrito from the platter and scarfed it down.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School – Community Service Meeting**

**Friday, October 5****th**

**1:13 PM**

Jackie's slipped into the community service meeting quietly. A big gaggle of girls, led by a hungover Allie-Rose Singer sat in front. Why were they here? Jackie wondered. Last she heard, community service wasn't the most popular extracurricular.

The door opened, and Dempsey Solomon walked in. "Sorry I'm late," Dempsey panted.

Oh.

Jackie wondered if she should smile at him. Then she wondered if that was creepy. Then she thought that might not be, since they had had a Moment at Allie-Rose's party two days ago and then went to get hot dogs later on. But Dempsey was writing on the board, and his back was turned on –

Wait. Writing on the board? He was the president of the community service club? Well, Jackie was surprised. She doodled a heart on her hand.

"The soup kitchen downtown needs volunteers," Dempsey said, wiping the chalk dust off his perfect hands. "And I think we should volunteer."

"Do we have to?" Allie-Rose said in a Tweety-Bird voice, twirling a lock of dark hair around a manicured finger. "I mean, hello, guh-ross." Allie-Rose giggled. "No offense," she added as an afterthought.

Jackie capped her Sharpie pen. She kind of agreed with Allie-Rose, but if wearing a hairnet and serving soup to hobos meant getting close to Dempsey, so be it. Jackie nervously raised her hand.

"Oh, hey," Dempsey said, noticing her. "You joined?"

"Yeah, my mom wanted me to." _Please keep that to yourself, Jackie. _"I mean, um, community service, is, um, and eye-opening experience?" She supplied the end of the sentence with a question mark. Nice.

"Cool." Dempsey smiled. "So how are you?"

Allie-Rose glared, along with her wannabe-PC. Apparently they didn't appreciate two people have a conversation from across the room. Allie-Rose raised her hand. "Dempsey, I think we should start talking about the soup kitchen."

"Right, sorry. Oh wait, what did you want to say?" He looked at Jackie again, who was sure her head was going to fall off.

"Uh, I was just going to ask when this was."

"Sunday," Dempsey said. He wrote the information on the board. His handwriting was even sexy. "Eleven AM. Try to make it."

"I can't wait!" giggled Kari West, blushing.

The door opened, and Massie and Chelsea walked in.

Jackie wrinkled her nose. Chelsea was still apparently as annoying as ever, even if she wasn't hanging out with Jackie and her friends anymore. But Massie was a whole other story. Jackie tried to cover her face up with her hair.

Massie tossed back her long silky brown ponytail, laughing loudly. She was wearing a tight orange Marc Jacobs pinafore, revealing her long, smooth arms and swan neck. Jackie sighed. _Beautiful people should be arrested. Except Dempsey_, she jotted down in her notebook.

"Hey, Dempsey," Massie purred, patting Dempsey's perfect face lightly before sitting down next to Allie-Rose's crowd. They all squished and squeezed together their best to give Massie room.

And Chelsea turned and walked toward the back row. Closer to Jackie's seat. Closer, and closer, and closer, until she sat down next to her. Except unlike a few weeks ago, Jackie was not welcoming Chelsea with open arms. In fact, Jackie set her backpack down onto the seat beside her and Chelsea simply swept it aside and plopped her butt down.

Rude.

"Dempsey Solomon will never love you," Chelsea whispered, her once-friendly eyes daggers. Then she put the pointy heel of her D&G shoe on top of Jackie's notebook on the floor, leaving a dirty footprint.

**(AN: Hola readers. Hope you liked the chapter. Just for fun, tell me who your favorite character and couple is. Thanks to my reviewers, especially **_**maplexsyrup**_**, for being so supportive.**

**Title of the chapter is **_**This Woman is Dangerous. **_**The movie starred Joan Crawford and David Brian.**

**OMG GREY'S ANATOMY IS ON TONIGHT! Even if it is a re-run, I'll watch anything involving Grey's Anatomy :D R&R!)**


	10. let's make love

Westchester, NY

**Westchester, NY**

**The Westchester Mall – Food Court**

**Saturday, October 7****th**

**1:33 PM**

"Wait, why are they here?" Massie asked, squinting at the Briarwood boys. They were sitting two tables away from the Pretty Committee in the food court at the mall, scarfing down pizzas and hot dogs.

"No idea." Alicia stared at Kemp.

"Ugh, I am suh-o over Derrick. I mean, doesn't he get that I'm with Dempsey now?" Massie rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of Dempsey, I think the plan is working!" squealed Chelsea, flipping her conditioned hair. Earlier that morning, Massie had taken her to Frederic Fekkai, the Bliss, and Bendel's. The others could hardly believe it. Was Chelsea Massie's new BFF?

"I gained two pounds after I ate that corn dog this morning!" whined Dylan, pinching at her arm-fat.

"You ate a corn dog for breakfast?" Kristen said, wrinkling her nose.

"I ate it after breakfast, ding-dong," Dylan snapped.

Kristen rolled her eyes. "Should we go shop?" she asked, looking at Massie. "I need new jeans. It's getting way colder."

"Duh." Massie pushed her chair back and juggled her shopping bags skillfully. But before the girls could leave the food court, the Briarwood boys were on their way over.

Kemp's arms went around Alicia's. Alicia slapped them away and glared at him, hoping no one had noticed. "Hey, Josh," she cooed.

"Hey." Josh stared at the floor.

"Hey Block! We were just on our way out, too." Derrick threw an arm around Massie's shoulder. She shrugged him off. "How about that bet?"

"You lost it, loser," Massie snapped. Derrick grinned.

"Guess I'll have to be your sex-slave for a week. I don't mind."

"Ugh! You're disgusting." Massie shoved Derrick away from her.

Chelsea scooted her chair back slowly and edged closer to Cam. "Hey, I'm Chelsea," she giggled.

"I'm Cam." Cam smiled politely.

Chelsea hair-flipped and touched the arm of his leather jacket. "Ooh, soft," she purred.

"Come awn!" Massie snapped, grabbing her friends and marching them out of the food court. Derrick wiggled his fingers at her as she walked away.

Alicia nonchalantly handed Kemp a napkin. "Can you throw this away for me?" she whispered into his ear, leaving a faint whiff of Angel perfume. As Alicia hurried off with her friends, Kemp opened the napkin.

**WOMEN'S BATHROOM. 5 MINUTES.**

Westchester, NY

**The Westchester Mall – Women's Bathroom**

**Saturday, October 7****th**

**1:45 PM**

"See you later," Kemp said, spanking Alicia on the butt on his way out. She giggled as the door slammed shut. Alicia always felt great after hooking up with Kemp. But when she got Josh to swear he'd never look at Aly Parker again, Kemp would be out the window.

Alicia craned her neck to apply concealer over the hickeys. Her cell phone buzzed to the tune of _When I Grow Up._

It was a text from Massie: **HEY! WHERE R U?! FASHION EMERGENCY AT GIUSEPPE.**

Alicia typed back, **SRRY. WAS AT CHANEL GETTING NEW PURSE. B RITE THER! **Alicia snapped her phone shut and hurried out. Giuseppe was just five stores down. She pushed open the glass door, spotting the PC trying on the shoes in the latest collection.

"Ehmagawd Leesh! I can't decide on these…" Massie held up a pair of leopard-print flats, "Or these!" She flaunted white 2-inch platforms.

"Get the platforms, ay-sap," Alicia nodded.

"Perf." Massie tossed aside the flats carelessly. "Where's your new purse?"

"Umm…I decided not to get it in the end," Alicia lied. "It was way too expensive." She hurried over to the shelf to inspect a pair of glossy black slides that were duh-licious. Chelsea appeared next to her, carrying three shopping bags.

"Heya Leesh," Chelsea chirped. "How's Kemp?"

Alicia's arms crawled with goosebumps. "_What_?"

"Oh, come awn, I know all about your little tryst. I heard it outside the women's bathroom. That's so classy, A."

Alicia looked around, just in case someone might hear them. Dylan and Kristen were admiring a pair of suede boots. A saleswoman was showing Claire nude-colored flats. And Massie was up at the register, flashing her AmEx for the platforms. Alicia turned back to Chelsea.

"What do you want from me?" Her voice shook.

"I want you to help me get with Cam Fisher," Chelsea shot back.

"_Kuh-laire's _ex?" Alicia whispered. "But why?"

"Because I want to rub it in her face, for reasons I can't tell you. Also, he's such a hottie." Chelsea winked. "You know what I mean? Or have you already slept with him?"

Alicia clenched her fists. "You are such a b – "

"Yes?" Chelsea asked, batting her lashes.

"I mean…you're, um, you're in good hands. I'll help you with Cam."

"Good. Because if you didn't, you'd be regretting it for the rest of your _life_. After all, my rumors are known to be especially deadly."

"_What_? Deadly? Like – OMG, the rumor about Less-a being pregnant? And Aly and Josh?!" A small cry escaped Alicia's throat.

"Oops, you weren't supposed to find about that. Oh well!" Chelsea smirked. "Anyway, have a nice day. And those slides would like _ah-mazing _on you." She glided away, and the lights in Giuseppe seemed to dim a little.

**Westchester, NY**

**Galwaugh Farms**

**Saturday, October 7****th**

**2:03 PM**

Skye decided that she was in love with Chris Abeley.

Here's how it happened: Skye was at Blockbuster, renting _The Notebook _for the sixth time since September. She knew the guy at the counter personally. His name was Chuck and he was working at Blockbuster to pay for college. He had horn-rimmed glasses, spiky brown hair, and a dainty Adam's apple.

Anyway, just as Skye grabbed the DVD with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling kissing in the rain, someone stepped up and grabbed it too. And it was Chris Abeley.

Skye was stunned. She almost had a heart attack, right there in her frog-printed pajama shorts and black flip-flops. "Oh…sorry," she said as Chris nodded a quick thanks and disappeared with the DVD under his arm.

_Chris Abeley liked _The Notebook_._

It was a little quick, I mean, after the whole thing with Derrick. But Skye figured that to take her mind off it, she could stalk Chris a little.

A little was the equivalent to _a lot_.

Skye had convinced her mother to sign her up for Galwaugh Farms a while ago, but when the resident "nobody wants him" horse Fatty threw her off his back, Mrs. Brookfield had quickly pulled Skye out of riding lessons. Skye didn't mind. She stayed in bed for two weeks without a single injury anywhere, eating ice cream and watching cheesy daytime soaps.

But now Skye wanted to get back into Galwaugh. But she couldn't say it was for a boy. Please. Mrs. Brookfield needed a good explanation for everything. So Skye said it was because horses were life and she was going to become a horse-trainer in a circus when she grew up.

It was a dumb lie, but Mrs. Brookfield bought it. And now, as the thought of Chris crying as Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling broke up with each other, Skye brushed Jimmy Choo's coat with a dandy brush. Her snuck peeks at Chris in the stall across from hers, talking quietly to Trixie.

_He's so kind. And caring. Ohemgee._

Skye mounted Jimmy Choo and trotted him outside to the riding ring. Today, she was a new person. Today, she was in love.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Westchester Mall – Intermix**

**Saturday, October 7****th**

**2:15 PM**

Jackie rubbed her hands together as she entered Intermix. "Disturbia" blasted from the speakers, and eager shoppers hurried back and forth around racks, checking out the latest fashions. The smell of raspberries floated in the air. Jackie headed over to a glossy rack of clothes. She flipped through the blouses and tops hastily until she found what she had been looking for: a Juicy Couture cashmere sweater that she had been stalking for _weeks_.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jackie noticed the Pretty Committee staring at her. She blushed. Was her hair messy? Her nose running? Oh my God, was there a mustard stain on her butt? Jackie quickly headed to the register and paid for the sweater. She whirled around and started to head out the door. Massie suddenly slid in front of her and threw an arm around Jackie's shoulder as if they were best pals.

"Sooo, what's up, J?" Massie cooed. "You getting any good business on your streetcorner?"

Jackie's face heated up. She said nothing and stepped up to the doorway of Intermix.

A loud ringing noise filled the store. The skinny Indian girl working at the register hurried over. "What's going on?"

Massie was empty-handed. "It's her. I saw her slip something in!"

"Miss…" The clerk glared at Jackie and held out her hand.

"I swear, I paid for that sweater!" Jackie protested, although she handed over her shopping bag. The clerk dug around in it until she pulled out an expensive-looking pair of True Religions.

"Miss, this still has the security tag on it." The clerk glared at Jackie. "Were you trying to steal?"

Jackie glanced over the clerk's shoulder. The Pretty Committee stood near the trench coats, glossy lips curled into devious smiles. Massie had declared war.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Marvil Estate – Dylan's Room**

**Saturday, October 7****th**

**3:47 PM**

Dylan sighed as she threw five shopping bags onto the fuzzy carpet of her room. She was pooped. And hungry. Dylan studied her face in the mirror. Her cheeks were too puffy. Her eyes were all squished and tiny. She tried to see past all that by going downstairs into the kitchen and exploring the shiny silver refrigerator. Leftovers from Merri-Lee's dinner party last night sat there, tempting her.

Dylan didn't throw up. I mean, she did, a couple times, but that was it. That was _all_. But now she was regretting the spaghetti bolognese she had eaten at the mall. Dylan figured that if she was going to throw up, (which she wasn't) she might as well do it on a full stomach.

Dylan glanced down the hall. Her mom was at a meeting with the executive producers of _The Daily Grind _until 6. She had plenty of time. She took out all the food in the refrigerator.

Cold, cheesy mashed potatoes, pecan pie, a mountain of sauteed scallops, slices of chicken marinated in wine, greasy vermicelli, three-bean chili, thick slices of pepperoni pizza. Dylan ate it quickly. She washed her hands, cleaned up the counter, and ran to the bathroom as if she were in a race. _I'm not throwing up, just checking my reflection. That's all._

Dylan turned on the sink. She tried to think about her new purchases – a YSL peacoat, a Michael Kors sweater, an Alice + Olivia sundress…

_How am I supposed to fit into all that now? I probably doubled in size after what I ate._

Dylan shut off the water. The marble toilet looked pretty tempting. And you know what they say about temptation.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Plaza – Le Salsa**

**Saturday, October 7****th**

**6:58 PM**

The Plaza had just opened up near Alicia's house in Westchester. It consisted a huge movie theater, showing action flicks to foreign films. There was a PinkBerry, an M.A.C. store, a small Intermix, jewelry vendors, and hip restaurants filled with suit-wearing Hollywood agents.

The Plaza became a regular hangout for anyone who was anyone at Doyle. Meaning, the Pretty Committee. The _New _Pretty Committee with a new addition.

"Ehmagawd, this is taking suh-o lawh-ng!" complained Chelsea, pulling at the collar of her Lela Rose top. She glared at the tall, leggy blonde sitting at the table adjacent to theirs as if it were her fault. "Where's our food?"

"Be puh-atient, Chels," Dylan sighed, craning her neck to locate their waiter among the crowds of rich and famous people. "I'm sure they'll be – "

"Ehmagawd! Are those the boys?" Kristen turned around and waved at Cam, Josh, Derrick, Kemp, and Chris approaching their table. "Doesn't Kemp look suh-o hawt?"

Chelsea half-smiled at Alicia, who averted her eyes.

"Do you think Cam is here with anyone?" gasped Claire, looking at Alicia expectantly.

"He's alo – I mean, he's, um, here to see Chelsea." Alicia felt lower than poop. She looked down at her lap. The air inside Le Salsa was stuffy and hot. "Excuse me," she whispered, standing up. Her elbow collided into her Diet Coke, which spilled into Chelsea's lap. Alicia's face grew hot. "Sorry!"

"I'll see what's up," Kemp said, following Alicia out the door.

Once they were outside, Kemp grabbed Alicia, pressing her against him. "Let's go somewhere else," he said. "I want to be alone with you."

"Me too," Alicia whispered. Kemp was nothing but her rebound boy, but at least he helped take her mind off things. "The theater? Last row?"

"Let's do it out here. It's dangerous." Kemp wrapped an arm around Alicia's waist, kissing her neck. He pushed her against the brick wall.

"I like you dangerous." Alicia giggled and slipped her hands under Kemp's t-shirt as their lips met.

Suddenly, Alicia heard a tiny _ding_, and footsteps. She pulled away, her messy hair brushing the brick wall. Alicia squinted into the dark shadows bobbing around the store. "Massie?" she gasped.

Dylan gasped. Kristen glared. And Claire looked down at her feet.

Chelsea held up her cell phone and snapped a picture of Kemp and Alicia. "Looks like your little secret is out," she hissed.

Alicia straightened her skirt, which was wrinkled and hanging lopsided on her hips. "M – Massie! I can explain!"

"Explain? To _Massie_?! Why not me?" Kristen screamed. "You knew I liked Kemp!"

"Yeah, but…come awn, Kris. It's nawt like your relationships have exactly worked out," Alicia said, instantly regretting her words.

Kristen glared at Alicia. "I hate you! I never want to see you again!" She whirled around and stormed back into the restaurant.

"Alicia, how could you?" Josh asked. He just looked disappointed.

"It was because of that rumor! About you and Aly! But now I know that's not true, and I was hoping you'd take me back – "

"And why would I? You're screwing him!" Josh pointed at Kemp.

"Hey, man, she was the one who came onto me." Kemp held up his hands.

Alicia was too upset to care about what he had just said. Massie stepped up to her. She hadn't said anything for a full minute.

"You're out of the Pretty Committee, Leesh," Massie hissed. "_For good._"

**AN: Whoa man. That's intense. Anywhooo. Who watched Gossip Girl two nights ago? OMG! Marcus and Catherine! Ew to the max. And I actually thought he was smexy. **

**This chapter is called 'Let's Make Love' starring Yves Montand, Frankie Vaughan, and the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe :D**


	11. betrayed

Westchester, NY

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School**

**Monday, October 9****th**

**8:32 AM**

Alicia didn't hear anyone calling her a slut that morning as she hurried into her homeroom class. She relaxed a little when Carrie Randolph whispered, "Cool shoes, Leesh" out of the corner of her mouth. Marta Williams smiled at her. Wesley Taylor said, "Day-yum," when she walked past his desk. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Good.

The loudspeaker crackled on and Chelsea's voice filled the classroom. Alicia plopped into her seat, tossing her Valentino flower tote onto the back of her chair. "Good morning, fellow Doyle students, Chelsea Evans here!" Chelsea chirped. "Soccer tryouts are today. Bring your cleats!"

Allie-Rose Singer shifted in her seat and passed Alicia a note when Mrs. Byers wasn't looking.

**LUHV UR TOP!**

Alicia sighed, relieved. Would Allie-Rose be her new post-PC bestie? Hopefully.

**BLOOMIES. THEY HAVE AH-MAZING STUFF. **Alicia chewed on the end of her pencil before throwing the note back onto Allie-Rose's desk.

**EHMAGAWD. THANKS :**

Alicia nodded back at Allie-Rose and turned her attention back to the daily announcements.

"…Students who wish to run for student council must come to the meeting in room nine tomorrow after school. There is also a _very _dirty picture of Kemp Hurley and Alicia Rivera on the bulletin board outside of the Main Office. So if you want to look at that, feel free."

"_Miss Evans, you – " _someone in the office started to screech.

Chelsea clicked off the loudspeaker as the class tittered. They looked at Alicia, who gulped and tried to shrink.

Allie-Rose threw the note back at Alicia.

**WHORE.**

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School - Assembly Hall**

**Monday, October 9****th**

**9:01 AM**

Principal Ross had been playing mini-golf in his office when he heard the announcements that morning. He putted the golf ball into the hole and was just about to turn on the computer to play some Solitaire when Mrs. Patriarca banged on the door loudly and demanded to speak to him. Mrs. Patriarca was a touchy teacher. She was the president of Triple B, Ban Bad Books. She protested against Health class teaching students about STDs. Once, when subbing for Cooking, she thought she had burned the scallops and pulled the fire alarm.

Therefore, Mrs. Patriarca was the whole reason why Principal Ross called an emergency assembly that morning.

Principal Ross sighed and held onto his belt like a Texas cowboy. "The students – or students responsible for putting those pictures up on the bulletin board must step forward."

The assembly hall was silent.

In the third row, Tessa sat in front of Chris with her arms folded across her chest. She stared at Principal Ross, trying to ignore the person sitting behind her.

"Tessa, talk to me," Chris whispered, poking Tessa in the shoulder.

"Don't touch me or else I'll press charges," Tessa said.

Chris stopped poking. "Look, what are you mad about? Me and Dylan? Look, I'm – "

"Quiet back there!" Mrs. Patriarca hissed.

"Sorry," Chris and Tessa muttered. After a few moments of silence, Chris leaned forward again.

"I have to stay with her, Tess. You don't know what she's been through."

"I know what she's been through, alright. A bag of chips and some Ho-Hos."

"Tessa!" Chris whispered. "This is serious. Look, I can't tell you right – "

"Shh!" Mrs. Patriarca barked.

Aly was huddled in the very back row. She was going to send a text to Josh, but after a full minute of staring at the blank screen, she still had no idea what to say. _Sorry about your slut-butted girlfriend._

**HEY JOSH. HOW ARE U?**

Aly clicked Send and held her phone in her sweaty palms until it buzzed.

**FINE I GUESS. THANKS 4 ASKING. U?**

Aly typed, **ARE U STILL W/ CLAIRE? IF U DON'T MIND ME ASKING.**

**NAH I DON'T MIND. WE'RE STILL 2GETHER.**

Aly sighed.

Jackie shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She was sitting diagonal behind Dempsey, and his head looked beautiful from the back. She wanted to whip out a drawing pad and sketch it. Massie was sitting next to him, though, shoulder-to-shoulder. Her dark brown hair brushed against his arm.

Jackie pulled out her binder and a pen and wrote down on a fresh piece of paper: **I AM GOING CRAZY. **Then she noticed some kid staring over her shoulder and she threw her binder back into her YSL tote. Creeps. She shivered, watching Massie's deep-conditioned hair stroke Dempsey's shoulder as if it had its own mind. Jackie was going crazy, and pretty soon she'd be strapped to a bed wearing a hospital gown and a raving like a lunatic.

It wasn't fair how Massie had put ketchup in her gloves at the soup kitchen yesterday. And how Chelsea had dropped opened packets of mustard into her apron pockets until they leaked and got soggy.

"…And students need to be aware that gossiping, is, uh, bad." Principal Ross clapped his hands, meaning the assembly was over. Skye snapped open from her daydream in which Chris Abeley was in a wrestling match with Derrick. And Chris Abeley had won.

The students filed out of the assembly hall, chattering about the risque pictures. They had been taken down from the bulletin board, but some were already posted on the school website. Allie-Rose Singer showed Fifi Queeman the pictures on her iPhone.

"Ehmagawd. What a skank. Didn't she break up with Josh?"

"Yeah, probably because he wouldn't hook up with her."

"I hear it's because Josh hooked up with Aly."

"Total lie. Those two hardly know each other."

Alicia swallowed hard as she overhead Allie-Rose and Fifi's conversation. She planned to leave school for the day. Or maybe forever. It was too much to take. She bumped into Chelsea on the way. Chelsea was wearing Massie's Juicy Couture sheath dress. The sight of it almost made Leesh cry. "Why, Chelsea?" she whispered. "I thought I was going to help you with Cam."

"Turns out I didn't need it. Cam and I are going out later tomorrow night. And besides, you spilled your slut-infested drink on my skirt last night, 'member?"

Alicia shuddered. "Wh – what?"

"Whatevs. I gotta go now, I can't be seen with a whore like you." Chelsea whirled around and caught up to Massie, their perfect brunette heads tilting with laughter. And Alicia was left all alone with nothing but insults and a broken heart.

Westchester, NY

**The Plaza – Sumiko's**

**Tuesday, October 9****th**

**6:49 PM**

Chelsea scooted closer to Cam's chair so that their knees touched and their heads almost bumped together. "Tell me about yourself, Cam," she whispered in a sultry voice.

"Umm. Well, I have an older brother, and I like soccer." Cam fiddled with his napkin.

Chelsea giggled loudly. Someone took a picture of them from a table nearby, most likely Allie-Rose.

Claire, Dylan, and Massie were strolling around the plaza, window-shopping. "I didn't know Chels liked Cam," Massie mused.

"Yeah, me neither. But I'm fine with it," Claire said in a small voice.

Massie nodded. "Come awn, let's go to the Chanel store. I need some new blush."

"'Kay." Dylan and Massie started towards the Chanel boutique, but Claire lingered to watch Chelsea and Cam. Chelsea was nearly sitting in Cam's lap. She leaned forward to kiss him.

Claire kicked open the door to Sumiko's and ran in, shoving past a mousy brunette which she later found out was Coco Rocha. "Stop!" she cried, screeching in front of Cam and Chelsea's table.

"Kuh-laire? What are you doing here?" shrieked Chelsea angrily, throwing down her napkin.

"Kuh-laire!" Massie hissed, coming up behind Claire. She grabbed her arm. "What are you duh-oing?"

"Get your hands off my boyfriend!" Claire screamed. Cam's eyebrows rose. Chelsea gasped. Dylan snuck a few bites of the sushi roll on the table. Massie glared.

"Your boyfriend? Puh-lease. You broke up like ten million years ago," snarled Chelsea, sliding off Cam's lap. "Get over yourself already, Kuh-laire! Besides, aren't you with Josh?"

"Ehmagawd!" Massie gasped. "What?" She turned to Claire for explanation.

"I'm n-not – "

"Quit lying, you self-righteous bitch!" Chelsea shouted. To Massie and Dylan, she said, "They practically went all the way at The Bastille, and they've been making out in janitor's closets since then!"

"_Kuh-laire_! Explain!" Massie screamed.

Cam scratched his head. "You and Josh?"

Dylan munched into a California roll.

"I – I – it's true," Claire confessed. "But I didn't want anyone to know since Leesh used to be with Josh and I didn't want to seem like a boy-snatcher – "

"Ehmagawd. Are you for _real_?" Chelsea laughed, rolling her eyes. "You are a boy-snatcher, Kuh-laire. And I think you should be kicked out of the PC for hypocrisy."

Claire glared at her. Right now, she had nothing to lose. "Aren't you crossing the line here, Chelsea?" she snarled. "After all, you're only beta."

"I ah-gree with Chels," spoke up Massie. She looked at Claire as if she was a stranger. "Get out, Claire."

It was the first time Massie had pronounced her name right. Claire shook her head, "But – "

"Get out!" This time, it was one of the Japanese waitresses.

Claire sniffled as she pushed past the crowds of people in the front and outside. The cold night air cooled her skin. She wiped away a tear, pulled out her cell phone, and called her mom. Right now, all she needed was to be alone.

**Westchester, NY**

**Chris' House**

**Tuesday, October 9****th**

**7:57 PM**

Dylan punched Chris' phone number into her Sidekick. It went straight to voicemail. "I did it again, Chris," she sniffed. "I'm coming over in five." She snapped her phone shut and glanced out the window of her Lincoln towncar. She had rolled up the partition so the driver couldn't hear her.

Dylan stepped outside. "I'll call you to pick me up," she told the driver listlessly, and rang the doorbell to the Plovert manor. She shivered as the door opened. Chris answered. "Dyl? What are you doing – "

"I did it again," she sobbed. "I want to stop, Chris." She threw herself into his arms and cried. Chris felt stiff against Dylan's body.

"Chris? Aren't you going to – " Dylan looked up and over Chris' shoulder. Less-a was standing in the foyer, looking embarrassed.

"Wh – what? She's here? After – after all I've been through?!" screamed Dylan, pounding on Chris' arm.

Tessa hesitated. "We weren't doing – "

"Shut up!" shouted Dylan. "_Shut up_!" She grabbed a vase sitting on the table nearby and threw it at the ground. It smashed into a thousand pieces. "_You are the worst boyfriend ever_!" she screamed, reaching for the table lamp. Chris stopped her, pulling her arms behind her back.

"Dylan, just stop. Calm down."

Dylan collapsed, crying on the marble floor. "Bring me home," she cried. "Someone, just…"

Tessa kind of backed off. This was way too _Don't Bother to Knock _for her. But Chris looked at her as if he was asking for help, so Tessa cleaned up the vase while Chris called a cab. As the yellow taxi pulled up to the curb, Dylan and Chris climbed in. Chris looked out the window at Tessa, and then the car disappeared into the deep cave of the night.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Monroe Residence**

**Tuesday, October 9****th**

**8:31 PM**

Jackie paced her bedroom, her pulse racing. Chelsea had just sent a picture of Massie and Dempsey hugging outside of school to her cell phone. And Jackie was mad.

Jackie threw herself onto the bed, grabbed her fluffiest pillow, and screamed into it. After a few moments, she felt a little better and deleted the picture on her phone. Why was Chelsea being such a bitch now? A month ago, she would have been being annoying and texting Jackie instead of sending provoking pictures to her. But an annoying person is ten times better than a bitchy, manipulative, lying one, Jackie realized. Her heart pounded loudly and she grabbed the daily Doyle newsletter off her dresser to calm herself.

There were announcements for student council, choir, independent studies…and a talent show. A talent show in a few weeks. Jackie read the paragraph describing it:

_Doyle hosts its first annual talent show on October 24th. Students who wish to participate must go to the main office to sign up. Chelsea Evans will be announcing the acts. Don't forget to practice and have fun!_

Jackie tossed the newsletter aside. Chelsea was everywhere these days, she thought. But maybe that was a good thing. She held up the newsletter once again, rereading the short paragraph. An idea slowly made its way into her mind.

**(AN: ZOMG. I'm sorry I haven't updated in like a week. I'm so busy with school. Homework sucks. :P Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! This week, the movie is **_**Betrayed**_**, starring Lana Turner, Clark Gable, and Ian Carmichael.)**


	12. some like it hot

Westchester, NY

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School – Courtyard**

**Thursday, October 12****th**

**8:21 AM**

Massie was an avid watcher of the teen drama _Gossip Girl_. After watching all the episodes of season two in one night, she had gone out and hunted down every single Blair-esque piece of clothing she could get her hands on. From satin headbands to silk skirts, knee-socks to frilly blouses, Massie's closet was now filled with newly-updated couture frocks that looked _ah-mazing _on her.

Now that Claire and Alicia were gone from the Pretty Committee, Massie took it upon herself to recruit new members. But this time, she was doing it the _Gossip Girl _way. The episode "The Ex-Files" inspired Massie to set up camp in the courtyard before school with Chelsea, Kristen, and Dylan.

"This is hard to organize," mumbled Kristen, shuffling the stack of folders containing every Doyle girls' schedules and permanent records. "Can we go get some Pinkberry now?"

"Kuh-risten, focus," Massie snipped, snapping her manicured fingers efficiently. "Who's first in line?" she called out to the group of girls crowding near the table.

"Me," called out Amber Albert meekly.

Chelsea flipped her hair and read the first question. "Where did you vacation in the summer?" she asked.

"Wait, wasn't that a question from _Gossip_ – "

"Answer it, please." Massie leaned forward and gritted her teeth.

Dylan unwrapped a Luna bar as Amber stuttered and stammered. After her little breakdown last week, she had stayed home from school for two days pretending to be sick. Dylan still hadn't seen Chris or Tessa the whole morning. She wasn't planning to.

"I went, to, um, the, um…the ground cannon."

"You went to the _what_?" Kristen leaned forward.

"The Grand Canyon." Amber Albert stared at the floor.

"Sorry, Amber, but we're going to have to pass you up," Massie chirped sweetly, crossing out Amber's name on the list. "Next!"

Crossing the schoolyard not too far away were Kendall and Brie. Kendall's head was covered in a beanie, and she held a tissue in her hand. "Flu season sucks," she declared.

"Ew, you've got snot running down your – "

Kendall covered her face with a tissue. "I missed all the good gossip and drama. What happened so far?"

Brie thought. "Chelsea and Cam are dating."

"Not him! Cam loves me! He just doesn't know it yet!" Kendall exclaimed in a ditzy voice.

Brie giggled. "No, really. They are together. It's all over school. Well, a lot of things are all over school."

"Like what?" Kendall asked, clasping her hands together.

"Alicia and Kemp did it."

"Ick. You know what that's like? It's like orange juice after you've brushed your teeth. Britney Spears living in Amish Pennsylvania. Or…or Kim Kardashian with shrunken boobs. It just doesn't fit." Kendall nodded. "You get me?"

"A little too well."

Jackie and Dempsey were inside, leaning against her locker. Jackie found this very_ Secret Life of the American Teenager_. Even though some of her hair was caught in her locker.

"Hey, there's this thing at Moonlight tonight. You in?"

"I'm always in." Jackie accidentally moved her head, and she felt a pinch on her scalp. "Ow," she whispered.

"What?"

"Um. The, um…I stubbed my toe the other day. Still hurts." She chuckled nervously.

The bell rang. Students shut their lockers, said their goodbyes, and filed down the hall. Dempsey slung his backpack over his shoulder. "You coming?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I'm just going to, uh, hang out around here. Yeah. Just chilling."

"You're going to be late, though. Are you sure you don't want to walk with me?"

_OMG. YES. YES I DO._

"Can't. I'm chilling."

"Suit yourself." Dempsey chuckled and disappeared.

As soon as he was out of hearing distance, Jackie grabbed the back of her hair and struggled to pull it out. Today was not her day.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School – Computer Class**

**Thursday, October 12****th**

**10:32 AM**

Aly had a new obsession. It was not cupcakes. It was not Chace Crawford. (Although that came in a close second.) It was Josh Hotz.

Aly was beginning to think she was that guy who used to stalk Jodie Foster. What was his name? John Hinckley? John Hinckley had shot Ronald Reagan to impress Jodie, followed her around at Yale University, and sent her countless love poems. Aly was the same. Except...less creepier.

It was true about the stalking part, though. Aly followed Josh around school like a lost puppy. She made herself unseen by holding her backpack in front of her face. Sure, it wasn't the subtlest disguise, but it worked.

Aly pretended to be making a crossword puzzle on the computer when she was really typing stalking notes.

**10:33 – Exhibit A is staring at computer screen.**

**10:34 – Exhibit A adjusts sexy baseball cap. **

**10:35 – Exhibit A seems weirded out by girl staring at him.**

"Um…'sup," Josh greeted.

"'Sup." Aly feverishly exited out of the document. "How's life?"

"Ahh. Claire broke up with me."

"Is everyone breaking up with you these days?" Aly offered a cautious smile.

Josh returned it. "I can't help it. I'm so charming."

The bell rang. Aly grabbed her books and followed Josh out of the room. She hovered behind him for a moment or two, forcing herself to say the words, "So Josh, how do you feel about a movie at the Plaza tonight?"

"Can't. I'm getting a manicure at Essie." Josh pretended to flip his hair.

Aly laughed. Loudly. "No, seriously."

"Sure. That'd be awesome. See you tonight."

As soon as Josh disappeared, Aly had a spaz attack. She kissed Allie-Rose Singer's locker and skipped all the way to her next class. Mission accomplished.

Westchester, NY

**The Evans' "Manse" – Living Room**

**Thursday, October 12****th**

**3:01 PM**

Chelsea and Cam lay on the couch, arms and legs tangled around each other, kissing. If only Claire were here, Chelsea thought with a triumphant smile.

Their make-out session was interrupted when Cam sat up immediately. "Oh, God. I forgot about soccer practice."

"What?" shrieked Chelsea. "Soccer practice?"

"Yeah, I'm late. I gotta go." Cam flattened his hair in the hall mirror and grabbed his shoes.

"Come on, sweetie, let's just stay here and make out." Chelsea giggled coyly and grabbed his hand.

"Sorry, but I'm late."

Chelsea pouted. "Don't leave! It's no fun without you here."

Cam sighed. "Yeah, but I really need to go. We have a big game next week."

"I'll take off my shirt," whined Chelsea. She scooted over and wrapped her legs around Cam's waist. "Pleeeease?"

"Come on, Chels…" Cam started making his way to the door.

"Omigod. You're cheating on me, aren't you? You have another girlfriend!" cried Chelsea, sitting up.

"No! I don't! Just, come on – "

"Why, Cam? Is it because I'm not as pretty as some girls out there? I know my nostrils are big, but geez, you don't have to point it out! I'm really sensitive about it!" Chelsea's face distorted with tears.

"Look, I'm going, and when I come back – "

"You're not coming back, you little cheater!" Chelsea screamed. "Get the hell out of here!" She fell onto the couch and crossed her arms.

"Chels – "

"I told you to _leave_!" Chelsea shouted. A moment later, she heard the door slam.

Chelsea sighed loudly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She caught sight of Cam's leather jacket sitting at the end of the couch. He must have forgotten it on the way out. Chelsea smiled deviously as she went into the kitchen for a pair of scissors.

**Westchester, NY**

**Barneys**

**Thursday, October 12****th**

**4:10 PM**

Massie puckered her lips as herself in the mirror. The black-and-raspberry Jay Godfrey piece she was wearing looked…_old_ on her. Massie couldn't decide if this was a good thing or not. The color looked amazing with her hair, though. Point given for that. Massie adjusted her boobs in the dress and squinted into the mirror. She threw the dress onto the silk chaise of the Barneys fitting room. "Chels, can you hand me that Moschino dress?"

When there was no reply, Massie opened the door in her flashy Nicole Miller slip. There was no sign of Chelsea. Instead, Alicia Rivera stood in front of the three-way mirror, checking herself out in a conservative white Piazza Sempione shift dress.

"Well, if it isn't Massive Blockhead," Alicia said without turning from the mirror. "Ronald McDonald called. He wants his slip back."

Massie glared at her. When had Alicia turned so…bitchy? "Is that the best you can do, Miss STD? That piece of trash you're wearing makes you look like a nun. What are you doing here, anyway? I didn't know Barneys let in hobos."

Alicia's cheeks turned red. Massie knew she had hit a nerve.

"I'm going to Moonlight on Saturday," Alicia said with an eye-roll after a pause.

"What's Moonlight? Your strip club?"

"Puh-lease. It's the most ah-mazing nightclub ever. Cecilia and Isobel are visiting for a couple days, so they're going to come with me. Did you know Megan Fox and Blake Lively are regulars there?"

"You can't sneak into a nightclub," Massie said, even though she knew Alicia could. "You look like a child."

"If I look like a child, you look like a baby," Alicia shot back. She examined herself in the mirror.

"Sure I do. Isn't it a coincidence that I'm going to Moonlight on Saturday as well?" Massie smiled. She casually took out her cell phone and scrolled through her messages nonchalantly.

"Whatevs," Alicia scoffed. She fluffed her hair.

Massie frantically texted Chelsea, Kristen, and Dylan: **WE'RE GOING 2 MOONLIGHT SAT. GET READY. **

Alicia flipped open her cell phone. "Hey, Olivia," she said. Massie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm at Barneys. With _her._..she _toe-dally _is." Alicia narrowed her eyes at Massie. "Mm-hmm. Where? 'Kay, see you at Butter."

"Butter?" Massie shrilled when Alicia hung up. Even she couldn't help sounding surprised. "That's in the Upper East Side, baboon. How are you going to get there? I know you may not realize this, but we live in _Westchester_." Massie smiled at Alicia as if she were smiling at a four-year-old.

"Well, _Gossip Girl _is a very reliable source for ah-mazing restaurant references." Alicia pursed her lips at the mirror and stepped out of her dress. "And why do you think I have a driver? To tell me I'm pretty?"

Massie gritted her teeth. "Well, have a good time. You know the sautéed shrimp they serve at Butter aren't allowed to be eaten by _skanks_." Massie kicked the dressing room door behind her and grabbed the Jay Godfrey piece. She was so going to buy this. And she was so going to show Alicia up at Moonlight.

**Westchester, NY**

**Sidewalk Outside of Moonlight**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**6:58 PM**

"Heyy! You're here!"

Among the crowds of people standing outside of Moonlight waiting to be let in, Brie and Chrysta hugged.

"Hey, you look amazing! I think they saved us a spot in line."

Brie and Chrysta linked arms and cut in line behind Tessa, Jackie, Aly, Skye, and Kendall. "Hey guys! Don't I look pretty!" Kendall said, twirling in her skirt.

"Yeah, really pretty." Skye snickered. Kendall pinched her.

"Heyy, Ace!" A high-pitched, Spanish accented-voice filled the air. Isobel, Cecilia, and Alicia Rivera made their way past the line in front of Moonlight, looking ah-mazingly chic – despite the abuse of Euro-flair in each of their outfits. Cecilia waved to the bouncer, and he immediately let them in. The line groaned.

"Was that just Alicia?" Massie shrieked. Although she thought she looked fabulous in the Jay Godfrey, Massie was nervous. The Pretty Committee girls were all wearing push-up bras. Thank gawd for that. Massie took a deep breath.

"I cannot buh-lieve that Spanish slut," Chelsea snipped. She turned around. "Ehmagawd, it's the guys!" Derrick and his posse of guy friends were approaching the line.

"'Sup," Derrick grinned. He winked at Massie, who rolled her eyes.

"They're with us, Ace," Derrick said, slipping the bouncer a fifty-dollar-bill.

Kristen giggled. "Really?"

"Why not?" Derrick threw an arm around Massie as they entered Moonlight. There wasn't much room, so Massie couldn't move very much. Derrick smelled nice, though. Like cake batter and cinnamon.

"Wait!" Tessa shouted. The bouncer clicked the velvet rope into the lock just as the PC and the boys disappeared into the club. "That's not fair!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," Ace said. He crossed his large arms. "VIP only."

Tessa was sure this wasn't the policy. "They're not even old enough!" she shouted.

"Yeah, well neither are you." The bouncer stared down at Tessa's tiny four-eleven frame.

"Hey!" Tessa said, pointing a finger. Jackie yanked her back.

"Keep your panties on! People find a way to sneak into clubs all the time!" she whispered, allowing a gaggle of twenty-somethings ahead of them. "I watch a lot of TV."

"Yeah, well…"

"I have an idea!" Kendall whisper-shouted. She pushed past a redheaded Amazon and approached the bouncer with her friends behind her. "Hey, mister," she said, "can we get in?"

"You're kidding, right?" Ace chuckled. "How old are you, twelve?"

"How dare you!" Kendall shouted. "How dare you insult someone with Tourette's!" She pretended to have a momentary seizure. "And a _midget_!"

"Oh, god. Sorry, ma'am. I didn't know. And your friends?"

"Yeah, we're…all midgets. With…syndromes."

"Step right in," Ace said, pulling back the velvet rope. Jackie snorted with laughter. Brie's face was purple. Skye pretended to have a brief spaz attack. Kendall raised her fist with victory. Aly, Chrysta, and Tessa did the wave.

Inside the Moonlight, the purple and green lights shimmered. There were three bars in the whole room, with a separate VIP lounge. Waiters walked around carrying trays of tiny food or drinks. Guests danced to the beat of Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". A guy ran by the girls, whirling his shirt above his head.

"Hi!" screamed a voice behind Jackie. It was Dempsey. Jackie smiled.

"Hey, you made it!"

"Yeah. Wow, it's, um, loud in here. Do you want anything?"

"Just some champagne. Thanks." Jackie waved at his retreating back.

Already halfway across the room, Tessa was sitting on a velvet love-seat, trying not to throw up at the sight of Dylan and Chris grinding on the dance floor. Dylan didn't look like a crazy freak at all: her hair sparkled under the colorful lights, and there was a big smile on her face.

Tessa slumped down on the love-seat. A guy with sandy blonde hair stood above her. "Hey, is this seat taken?" he said, gesturing to the area beside her.

"No." Tessa stirred her martini. Someone could have peed in a triangular cup and it wouldn't have looked any different. Her eyes followed Chris and Dylan dancing.

"Something wrong?" The guy was actually really cute. Even though Tessa wanted to slaughter Dylan, she couldn't help noticing this.

"Nothing. What's your name?" Tessa crossed her legs.

"Derrick. Derrick Harrington."

**Westchester, NY**

**Moonlight – VIP Lounge**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**7:13 PM**

Chelsea planted a long, sloppy kiss on Cam's face right in front of Claire. "If you'll excuse us," she giggled, grabbing Cam's collar.

Claire shivered. Chelsea had been dangling Cam in front of her face all week. She was going to go crazy if it went any further. Cam looked back at her as Chelsea dragged Cam off into the VIP lounge.

"Look, Chels, I have to talk to you about something." Cam shoved his hands into his pockets.

"First, we're going to get something to drink." Chelsea snapped her fingers. "Two martinis, please," she told the waiter.

"Chels – "

"Shhh. Be quiet." Chelsea climbed onto Cam's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Chelsea!" Cam exclaimed, shoving her off. She fell against the leather love-seat.

"Cam!"

"I'm trying to say something here!" Cam shouted. "I don't want to date you anymore!"

"_What_?" Chelsea gasped. Her mouth dropped open. "How could you do that to me, Cameron Fisher?"

"See, that's just the thing. What is up with you talking like a soap actress?"

"Cam!" Chelsea cried. "What – why – "

"You're always…all _over _me. And clingy." Cam stared at the wall.

"I hate you!" Chelsea screamed. She picked up a glass off the table and threw it Cam. He ducked, just in time. "You are a lying, cheating, dog! Get out of here! Get the eff out of here!" she yelled.

Cam paused. "I'm sorry, Chels!"

"No you're not!" Chelsea shouted. "I told you get out!"

And Cam got out.

**Westchester, NY**

**Moonlight – Dance Floor**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**7:20 PM**

"Okay, the Charlie Brown." Aly shook her leg spastically and bobbed her head up and down.

"You suck at that!" laughed Josh. "How 'bout the sprinkler?" He put a hand behind his head and waved his other one in the air.

"You look like a total weirdo," Aly chuckled. She did the Egyptian, craning her neck like a chicken. "How do I look? Super hot?"

Josh sniggered.

Alicia teetered on her Miu Miu heels, watching Josh and Aly dancing like monkeys on fire. Whenever that Aly freak was there, she was always bringing out the retarded three-year-old in Josh.

Which was _nawt _a good thing.

Alicia quickly finished off her Burgundy, handed it to a waiter, and glided over. "Hey, Josh," she giggled, grabbing his hand. "You mind?" she hissed at Aly.

Aly stopped dancing. "Your boobs look ready to take over the world."

"_Excuse me?!"_

Aly stared at the floor. "Nothing. Bye Josh." She was swallowed up in the crowd right away.

"Joshie," Alicia murmured, leaning into him. "Do you want to get out here? Go back to _muy casa_?"

Josh shrugged. "Uhhh…I think it's _mi casa._"

Alicia giggled. "You're such a man, Josh. Always…correcting my Spanish for me." Alicia tipped her head and laughed lightly. "Seriously, though. Let's go back to my place."

"What about you and Kemp?"

"That's over. It was over from the beginning." Alicia rolled her eyes and gently grazed Josh's cheek with a finger, pressing herself against him. "So what do you say?"

"Sure?"

"Great," Alicia whispered. "You won't regret it."

**(AN: **Wow. This was a long chapter. I rewrote it about three times, actually.

Teehee. Chelsea is a weirdo. :D

This chapter is called _Some Like It Hot. _Starring Marilyn Monroe, who is awesome and cool, Tony Curtis, who is equally cool, and Jack Lemmon, who is still alive to this day and rocks like a…rock concert?

Anyway. Review! :D

**RAWR.i'm tessa yo : I edited! Teeheeeee. Jackie thinks I'm cool :D and don't mind jackie's obsession with alcohol******** she's just a child xD**)


	13. madame sin

Westchester, NY

**Westchester, NY**

**Moonlight – Bar**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**7:58 PM**

Massie sipped her appletini, pissed off. It seemed as if these days, Massie was _ah-lways _pissed off – at Claire, at Alicia – even at Dempsey for disappearing from the club. Massie whirled around in the curvy barstool, puckering her mouth at the taste of her drink. She surveyed her territory.

The slutty girls from Goodrich, the prepatory school across the street from Doyle, were hoochie-dancing on the dance floor with beers in their hands. Some guys from BOCD Massie vaguely remembered were cheering and playing some drinking game. Cecilia and Isobel were surrounded by sophisticated-looking men in designer suits. Derrington was stroking some girl's hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear –

Wait a minute. What? Massie squinted, hoping the alcohol was distorting her vision. The girl was tiny and petite, wearing a turquoise-colored bustier dress. Wait, was that -

Massie whirled around in her barstool and ordered another drink.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Hotz Estate**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**8:09 PM**

Josh's parents weren't home, thank gawd. Alicia dragged Josh in, trying to appear like she toe-dally knew what to do. But Josh tripped on the doorstep when they came in.

"Ehmagawd, are you okay?" Alicia asked. She teetered on her too-high D&G platforms.

"Yeah, fine." Josh straightened up. "So, um, what are we doing?"

"You'll see." Alicia went back to being the sultry vixen. She followed him into his room.

"Make yourself at home," Josh shrugged.

"Can I use your bathroom?" Alicia asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Sure. Just down the hall to your left."

"Thanks! Mwah!" Alicia winked and headed to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her and stared into the Venetia n mirror. She unzipped her dress, revealing the charmeuse Proenza Schouler slip she was wearing underneath. Alicia smiled triumphantly. She looked like a toe-dall sex goddess.

"Ow!"

Alicia whirled around. She heard a rustling noise, like someone shaking a tree. She quickly reapplied her Nars gloss and hurried out the door. She wasn't going to let anything spoil her evening with Josh.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Hotz Estate – Tree Outside the Bath room**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**8:15 PM**

Aly grabbed the tree by its trunk and wrapped her legs around it. She wondered if Josh thought she was quirky for climbing up his tree. He hadn't answered his door anyway. If he didn't think she was quirky, at least he'd have his cell phone. Aly happened to know that he had a big assignment for AP English, and what if he needed to e-mail Mr. Bergman?

Aly scooted up the tree, although her hands burned and she was pretty sure an ant was on her face. The curtains were drawn in Josh's room, but there was a light on. Aly grabbed a branch and pulled herself up. She had gotten an A in pull-ups for second grade fitness. Fortunately, that skill came in handy at that moment.

The branch shook, and some leaves came raining down. One landed in Aly's hair. She stood up on the branch and grabbed the one above it. This one was fatter and much stronger. She was getting closer to Josh. If she just…jumped onto the thicker branch and knocked on the bedroom window…

Aly stood up on the branch shakily. It wobbled. Or rather, she did. One, two, three steps, and she was leaning against the glass window. Aly took a deep brea th. Any little misstep could send her falling onto the too-green lawn. And Aly wasn't interested in falling to her death outside of her crush's house.

"Hey, Josh…"

It was a sultry voice. It was the kind of voice you'd hear on those sleazy dating ads. It sounded like it belonged to someone who wore thongs that stuck out of their pants.

It was Alicia's voice.

"Wow, Leesh, you look, um…"

Aly really couldn't bring herself to intrude upon their moment. She couldn't climb back down either. The branch trembled. Aly pounded on the window.

"Ehmagawd!" Alicia screamed. "What was that?"

"Hey, Josh. It's me. Aly."

"Whoa." Josh opened the window. He grabbed Aly's hand and helped her in. She stepped on his desk and hopped off, hoping she didn't leave any muddy footprints. His room smelled like a mixture of wintergreen and cinnamon buns.

Alicia was standing near the door, wearing a tight blue slip that accentuated her monstrous boobs. Her dark hair glimmered. "What are you doing here?" she spat.

Aly turned red. "I just wanted to give you your cell phone," she whispered, handing over Josh's EnV2. She and Josh exchanged pleasantries on the way down, and he showed her out the door. Then Aly went home and fell apart.

**Westchester, NY**

**Moonlight – Womens' Bath room**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**8:29 PM**

Dylan had just eaten a whole platter of canapés. The waiter had offered her some, and she had greedily grabbed four. Then two more. And then just when the waiter was about to leave, Dylan took the whole plate.

Dylan could imagine what she'd look like after she ate them. Her cheeks would resemble a pufferfish's, and her stomach would look like a balloon. But Dylan scarfed down the canapés anyway in the privacy of the VIP lounge.

Now she was hiding in the fourth stall of the women's bathroom in Moonlight. She waited until Jasmine Va squez and Ian Erskine were done dressing and left the bathroom, giggling, until she barfed up all fifteen of the canapés into the toilet bowl. She crouched on the green-and-white tile floor, tears running down her cheeks.

_You need help_. Tessa had murmured this as she passed Dylan in the hallway yesterday at school. Dylan had been ind ignant. But now, she realized Tessa was right. Tessa didn't even know what Dylan needed help for. Did people whisper that Dylan needed help? Could they read her easily? The thought sent chills down her spine.

"Dyl?"

Chelsea stood in the doorway of the stall, pity etched in her brown eyes. She crouched down and rubbed Dylan's back. "Are you okay?"

Dylan wiped her mouth with some toilet paper, glad she had already flushed. "How did you get in here?" she croaked.

"You forgot to lock the door." Chelsea helped Dylan up. "Come on, let's get you washed up."

"'Kay." Dylan sighed, glad that Chelsea was such a good friend. She clicked across the tiles and turned on the marble sink. Dylan waited for the water to turn warm. Chelsea stood behind her, visible in the glossy bathroom mirror.

"How many times do you do it every day?"

Dylan stared at the water, shooting into the bottom of the sink. "Two or three. I can't help it."

"I understand. My sister was a bulimic too." Chelsea smiled sympathetically.

Dylan splashed the warm water onto her face. "It sucks. You don't want to, but you have to."

Chelsea reapplied her lip-gloss in the next mirror. Dylan was glad she was acting so cool about it. "Is it your deepest, darkest, secret?"

Dylan paused. "What – what do you mean?"

"If people found out, you'd be ruined right?" Chelsea was starting to sound weird.

"I guess. Yeah." Dylan's heart stopped beating.

"Just checking." Chelsea smiled coyly at her before capping her Boujois lip marker and leaving the bathroom.

**Westchester, NY**

**Moonlight – VIP Lounge**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**9:01 PM**

Derrick and Tessa didn't hang out much around school. She had seen him bobbing around Massie sometimes, and maybe she would get a glimpse of him at the occasional assembly. Other than that, Derrick Harrington was out of Tessa's league. He was a soccer star, the guy who threw the best parties, the boy every girl had wanted to date since fourth grade.

Maybe that was why Tessa was so attracted to him. And why they were making out on the love-seat inside the VIP lounge.

Tessa didn't let guys go to first base easily. That was for the desperate, slightly-ugly girls or the slutty girls who always snapped their gum loudly. Tessa appreciated being appreciated. But she was allowed to let her hair down every once in a while, right?

"Ehmagawd, I didn't know you guys were together!" squealed Allie-Rose Singer, snapping a picture. Tessa screamed and pulled back.

"Look, Carrie! Derrick and that Lessa girl are making out!" someone shrieked.

" Oka y, show's over," Derrick said, waving them away. Allie-Rose and Carrie giggled as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"Tessa, what's going on?" Chris Pl overt emerged from behind Olivia Rice. "Everyone's saying you kissed Derrick."

"Dude, it's true." Derrick stood up.

"Don't mess with me, man," Chris laughed. He looked at Tessa. Then at Derrick. "Oh God. You're not kidding?"

"We broke up anyway," Tessa muttered.

Chris looked pained. "And it's fine if you kiss Derrick?"

"Dude, lay off. You're over her, right?" Derrick stood in front of Chris.

Chris punched him.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Brookfield Manor – Skye's Room**

**Saturday, October 14****th**

**10:32 PM**

Everyone was tired. Everyone was slightly drunk. (Chrysta had laughed for nine minutes on the way home.) Upon arriving at Skye's house, they changed into their pajamas and collapsed on sleeping bags.

"What happened to you tonight?" croaked Brie.

"I made a fool of myself," Aly replied. Her eyes were already half-closed. "Alicia probably has Josh's virginity by now."

Chrysta was already passed out.

"I ate fast food with Dempsey," Jackie sighed.

"Chris punched Derrick. Who I made out with."

Skye and Kendall sat up in their sleeping bags. "_What?"_

"Don't judge me. I have my rights." Tessa covered her face with a pillow.

"Well, someone wanted to know if I wanted a tattoo," Kendall whispered, as if Mrs. Brookfield was in the room with them. "And I got one."

"What?!" shrieked Brie. "Where? Lemme see! I want one!"

"You're in troubleeee," sang Aly. "I'm going to tell yo' mom."

Kendall snickered. "I got it on my ankle. It's a butterfly." She lifted her foot in the air so everyone could see.

Tessa licked her finger and poked her ankle. " Om igod, it's real."

"What, you think I got a fake one? I'm not nine-year-old, thank you very much."

"What about that mermaid one on your back you showed to everyone in the locker room? And then you took a shower and it disappeared?" Jackie asked.

"That nev er happened."

Brie grabbed Kendall 's ankle. "Are you going to wear tube socks for eternity?"

"You wis h." Kendall pulled it away.

"Did it hurt?" asked Aly. "How did they even do it?"

"It kind of hurt. But it was a very professional tattoo parlor." Kendall smiled. "Aren't I a bad-ass?"

"Maybe if you tattooed 'I Heart Mom' on your bicep." Tessa laughed.

Kendall smirked. "You're just jealous because I have a cool tattoo. And I sneaked you guys into Moonlight by pretending to be a midget with Down syndrome."

" Om igod, I totally forgot about that!" shrieked Brie, cracking up. She and Skye slapped palms.

"What happened with you guys?" Jackie asked.

"We mooned someone! And they took a picture!" Skye cackled.

"Let's go look up 'Brie and Skye's butts' on Google," added Aly with a sly smile.

And so they did. But they didn't find anything. Yet.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Westchester Mall – Prada**

**Sunday, October 14****th**

**1:03**

"Ehmagawd, that purse is 2D4!" squealed Chelsea , seizing an oversized leather hobo from the shelf. "What do you think, Massie?"

"Isn't that a limited-edition piece?" Dylan wondered.

"Ehmagawd, it is. It's gorgeous." Massie absentmindedly nodded toward Chelsea 's direction. She was currently checking out a super-cute pair of knotted cork wedges on display.

Kristen held up a splashy Prada organza shirt. "This is so ah-dorable."

"You look like a crackhead, Kris," snickered Massie, running a smooth hand over the wedges.

"Do nawt!" Kristen protested, smiling faintly.

Chelsea slung the hobo over her arm. "Isn't it pretty, Dyl?" she cooed.

"I guess?" Dylan scrutinized a pair of round sunglasses.

"Ehmagawd. I can't pay for it!" pouted Chelsea . "I just remembered my mom canceled my credit card at home! Could you do me a favor, Dyl?"

Dylan looked up. "Wh – what do you mean?" She looked around. Massie and Kristen were gushing over a pewter-colored satchel.

"It's…" Chelsea checked the price tag. "900 dollars." She smiled up at Dylan.

Dylan felt faint and light-headed. "You want me to buy this for you?" she whispered.

"Toe-dally. I'm broke." Chelsea casually plopped down onto the caramel leather settee, her Mich ael Kors hobo dangling off her lap.

"I don't think my mom would be very happy." Merri-Lee allowed Dylan to buy things of reasonable price. A 900-dollar purse certainly wasn't that. Besides, Merri-Lee would see it on the credit-card bill.

"You're buying it for me." Chelsea 's eyes fla shed and she shoved the purse into Dylan's arms. "Would you like me to tell everyone at school about your little...problem?"

Dylan's stomach churned. "Fine," she yelped, throwing her credit card and the purse at a saleswoman. "Can you please ring this up for me?" she whispered, tears stinging her eyes.

Dylan excused herself from the rest of the shopping trip, not wanting to pay for anything more, and took a cab home. Tired, she made her way into her bedroom and threw herself onto the bed. Her Mac dinged with a new e-mail.

_Hey Dylan! Just wanted to check in on you! "Period cramps", did you say? _

_I'm totally enjoying the Prada. Thanks a bunch, sweetie!_

_-C_

_P.S. Weren't you at Moonlight last night? Funny, is it, that you didn't see Chris fighting over Tessa?_

Chelsea was obviously lying. Chris was her boyfriend. And Tessa was a forgotten figure of the past, just a ghost in the hallways at school. Dylan del eted the e-mail and opened her drawers. She was pretty sure there was a bag of Ruffles in there.

**AN: **Hey guys! How'd you like the chapter? Review! :) This chapter is called, **Madame Sin **starring Bette Davis and Robert Wagner. :)


	14. straitjacket

Westchester, NY

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School – Cafeteria**

**Tuesday, October 23****rd**

**12:08 PM**

Massie had decided against recruiting new Pretty Committee members, as no one seemed right for the part. Instead, she invited a troupe of well-dressed, glossy-haired, Blair Waldorf-wannabes to sit with them at lunch. An entourage was so much better than just one new member, Massie decided triumphantly.

"Omigod, the talent show is tomorrow. I'm so excited-slash-nervous!" squealed Mackenzie Perkins.

Massie fake-smiled and yanked at a shiny brown curl. Kristen was reading _A Tale of Two Cities_. Snore. Dylan was eating one of those gross diet lunches she always brought. Ew. And two tables away, Alicia sat with Olivia Ryan, crossing and un-crossing her legs to show off her thong.

_Double _ew.

Chelsea arrived at the Pretty Committee's table and plopped down. "I was just practicing for the talent show!" she said. "I'm introducing all the acts."

Massie nodded. She looked over at Claire, sitting with Layne, Meena, and Heather.

"It's so amazing-slash-awesome that you're the announcer," Mackenzie supplied. "You appear, like, every five minutes or something, right?"

Chelsea giggled modestly. She lifted her arm to show off her new Prada.

"Ehmagawd! That's so cute-slash-adorable!" gushed Mackenzie. "Prada is the best."

"Totes," Chelsea agreed. "Dylan bought it for me."

"No way! Buy me something!" giggled Mackenzie jokingly.

Dylan stared into her tofu-sausage risotto. "Excuse me," she mumbled, standing up and throwing away her lunch. She speed-walked into the empty hallways and almost collided into Chris.

"Hey," she mumbled.

"Hey," he mumbled back. "Are you mad at me?"

Dylan wrinkled her forehead. "No. Why would I be?"

"Wait, you didn't hear about the…"

"The what?" Dylan's heart skipped a few beats. Was Chelsea's message from last week true? "You mean Moonlight?"

"Yeah, about that fight." Chris looked uncomfortable.

"Omigod," Dylan gasped. She stared at Chris. "Are you saying…? You were…"

"I'm so sorry, Dylan." Chris stepped forward, but Dylan pushed him back.

"Go away! Don't touch me!"

Chris' face faltered. He turned around and left.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle School Parking Lot – Night of the Talent Show**

**Wednesday, October 24****th**

**6:44 PM**

The Doyle School was simply holding a talent show, but the guests were treating it like a five-star social event. Town cars pulled up to the curb. Jeweled evening shoes stepped out onto the pavement. Cocktail dresses swished, and the sound of high-pitched laughter filled the air. Alicia shimmied into her Juicy Couture faux-fur coat as Dean pulled up to the front of Doyle.

"This is amazing," squealed Olivia, squeezing Alicia's hand. The Nicole Miller dress Olivia was wearing made her hair glow. "Omigod, Leesh, you look awesome."

"I do?" Alicia gasped. "Thanks." She had been starting to regret wearing a new imported-from-Spain petal-skirted dress, but she must have looked nicer than she thought.

"Sorry, girls, but the traffic's awful. We're going to have to wait a little."

"That's fine, Dean." Alicia fluffed her hair and pressed a button. The partition between the driver's seat and the backseats slid up, giving the girls some privacy.

"Seriously, Leesh, you still haven't told me about you and Josh," Olivia said. "You've been so 'dad's the word' this week."

"It's 'mum's the word' I think," Alicia replied. She opened the mini-fridge and pulled out two wineglasses and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. "Want some?"

"Sure!" Olivia took one glass and poured some wine for herself. Alicia, relieved, sunk into her seat. Alicia didn't want to talk about her tryst with Josh. Well, there wasn't actually anything to say. They hadn't done anything. Aly climbing in had ruined everything, and Alicia had been way to nervous to take off the slip. Big deal. So she wasn't a total sex goddess.

Alicia finished off the wine as Dean popped open the car door. Olivia stumbled out, already drunk on three glasses of Cabernet. "Leesh, you coming?" she slurred.

"Yeah, hold on." Alicia grabbed her clutch and followed her friend into the crowd of people. She'd have to find Josh later and finish what she started, with no interruptions.

Westchester, NY

**The Doyle Talent Show – Backstage Under a Table**

**Wednesday, October 24****th**

**7:01 PM**

"Okay, how's my hair?" whispered Jackie, petting her curls.

"There's no time to worry about your hair," Tessa said. She wore a headset around her neck. She turned on her laptop and logged into her account. "We are here to crush Chelsea's not Pretty-Face in!"

"Yeah!" Kendall said, beating her chest with her fists. "Ow, this hurts."

"Shh!" Jackie hissed. The girls were quiet under the white tablecloth as a pair of feet approached the refreshment table.

"Simon, do you want a scone? These are awesome." There was a loud, tasty-sounding _crunch_. Tessa reached out and pinched the person in the ankle.

"Ow!" The scone dropped to the floor. "Dammit. Stupid red ants. Simon!" The feet walked away. Tessa picked up the scone. She held a walkie-talkie up to her mouth, filled with crumbs. "Skye, you there?"

"Shush! Don't call me that name! I'm _Austin Powers_, remember?" hissed Skye.

"Okay, _Austin Powers_, are you there?" Tessa hit a few buttons and lowered the volume.

"Yes. I am here. Are you sure Chels – I mean, the warthog – is allergic to stale foods?"

"Who isn't?" Tessa clicked off the walkie-talkie. "Okay. Kendall, you tap into the system. Jackie, show _Austin Powers _where the _Jello shots _are."

Kendall saluted. Jackie produced a Tupperware container from her LeSportsac. "The _Jello shots_ are ready to go, Austin," she said into the walkie-talkie.

"Aye, aye, Monsieur X."

Jackie casually used the tip of her shoe to push the container out from underneath the table. "Have you received the Jello shots, Austin?"

"I have. Roger." _Click._

Tessa checked her watch. "Five minutes until showtime."

"I'm hurrying!" Kendall cried, attacking the computer's keyboard. She plugged Tessa's mic into the computer, pressed a few more buttons, and voila. "Done," Kendall announced proudly.

Skye hurried past the people in the backstage crew. She was sweating. Badly. She went over to the scenery table, piled high with costumes and props, and decorated a paper plate with the croissant and the strawberry in the Tupperware container.

"No food here," Mrs. Patriarca said. She wagged her finger at Skye.

Skye nodded. "Yes ma'am." She turned on one heel and headed towards Chelsea, who was doing some voice exercises.

"Mee mee moe. Dee da doo. _Ayayayaya!_"

Skye fished out the mic Tessa had given to her earlier. "Here's your mic for the show," she said.

"Mrs. Patriarca, already gave me one – "

"That's the wrong one!" Skye blurted out. "This one is the right one. It, um, it makes everyone in the audience hear you. Loud and clear." Skye pressed the mic into Chelsea's hand, and the paper plate. "Here, eat this before the show starts. It'll help you with your…bowels."

"Whatever." Chelsea horked down the croissant and the strawberry. "Gawd, I'm so hungry. Save me some refreshments."

Skye nodded. _Whatever, you vegetable. _"It's starting!"

A deep voice filled the auditorium. "_Welcome to Doyle's first annual talent show_," it said, "_so please welcome your announcer for the evening – Chelsea Evans_!"

There was applause. Chelsea plastered a smile onto her face and walked out behind the curtains, waving like Queen Elizabeth. Skye joined her friends underneath the refreshment table. Tessa clutched her own microphone till her palms grew sweaty.

"Okay, go!" Jackie whispered.

"Welcome," Chelsea said, her voice polished and fake. "I'm so pleased to be the – "

The microphone squealed with feedback. The audience covered their ears.

"Sorry," Chelsea smiled, "just a little technical problem. Anyway – "

"Ipickmynosewhennooneislooking," Tessa blurted into her mic. The girls could hear Tessa's voice outside on the stage, coming from the huge sound system. The audience roared with laughter.

Chelsea's smile wavered. "Anyway!" she called out.

Jackie took the mic. "I talk to my boobs when no one's around!" she whisper-shouted in a Mexican accent.

"Omigod," Chelsea mouthed. "What's going on?" she cried at one of the crew members.

They were laughing too hard to notice.

"My boobs are named Fatty and Mistake," Skye said in a slithery voice.

Tessa beat boxed into the microphone. "Fatty and Mistake, they my homies. I talk to them when I get lonely. They like banana cereal, and sweet potato pops, don't mess with them, because without them I'd be lost!"

Everyone in the audience was screaming with laughter. Except the Pretty Committee.

Tessa unplugged the mic as Chelsea ran backstage and into the bathroom, her wails sounding sweeter than nothing they had ever heard before.

"Oh yeah, we _rule_," Jackie laughed. She lifted her hand to high-five them all.

The tablecloth suddenly lifted away, and the girls came face-to-face with Mrs. Patriarca.

**Westchester, NY**

**Massie's Afterparty – The Block Estate**

**Wednesday, October 24****th**

**9:02 PM**

Alicia sat across from Josh on the bed, their knees touching. She felt slightly tipsy on the wine she'd shared with Olivia on the way here. "I'm not even supposed to be at this party," she whispered, "I came to see you."

Josh took her hand. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Alicia flattened her hair. "Hold on a minute." She climbed off the fluffy bed and went into the bathroom. Alicia leaned against the door, trying to take yoga-breaths. Benito, a Spanish HART, had taken her virginity two summers ago in Barcelona, and Kemp had even done it with her. But this was Josh. He was different. He wasn't stupid and sleazy. He was special.

Alicia sighed. After this, she'd go to the pier with Josh and make out under the stars. On the way, of course, Josh would produce a white rose from his pocket and hand it to her.

This had to go perfectly.

**Westchester, NY**

**Massie's Afterparty – The Block Estate**

**Wednesday, October 24****th**

**9:06 PM**

Massie flipped open her cell phone.

**TESSA: D's TAKEN. U SHOULD HAV KNOWN THAT B4 U MADE OUT W/ HIM. (;**

"Who are you texting?"

Massie whirled around. Derrick stood behind her, practically breathing down her neck. His eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell?"

Massie snapped her phone shut. "Whatevs, Derrick. Leave me alone."

Derrick pressed her against the wall of the wine cellar. "You know what your problem is?" he whispered into her ear.

Massie glared at him and didn't answer.

"You're jealous," Derrick murmured. "You're jealous of everything."

And then he kissed her.

Massie drew in a deep breath. Was Derrick for real? He ran his hand down her leg, running it up her dress. Massie shivered with delight, letting him.

**Westchester, NY**

**Massie's Afterparty – The Block Estate**

**Wednesday, October 24****th**

**9:07 PM**

Aly burst into the guest bedroom at Massie's house. She really needed to call everyone and ask if Chelsea was already in a plane halfway across the world. But she didn't have the chance. Josh was sitting on the bed.

"Hey," Aly said, inching for the door.

"Hey. Look, you can't – "

Aly took a deep breath. "Okay, shut up."

An amused look flickered across Josh's face.

"I'm sorry that I climbed into your window the other day. It was creepy and really crazy. And that I interrupted your um…thing. Also, I realize I may seem like a stalker, but…friends?"

Josh studied her face. "Well, I've never been friends with a stalker."

Aly laughed. "Come on. Seriously." She held out her hand as a peace treaty.

Josh held onto it. Then he pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist so that they were nose-to-nose. "What are you doing?" Aly whispered. She was sitting up on her knees, her hair brushing against Josh's face.

Josh didn't answer. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. He tasted like chocolate. Either she was dead or dreaming.

Maybe both.

Aly wrapped her arms around his neck, smelling that boy-smell in his shirt. Josh touched the small of her back, pressing her closer to him. She wondered what would happen if she farted right now. The thought drifted away like a toy boat in the sea.

The bathroom door slammed.

Alicia stood in the frame of the bathroom, wearing lacy red lingerie with garters. Her dark hair was swept over one shoulder, and she reeked of Ralph Lauren's Romance. Her eyes looked glassy.

Aly and Josh pulled away from each other. They were both silent. There was nothing to say.

Alicia was the first to talk. Well, she didn't really talk. She screamed – a loud, high-pitched scream that would send chills down anyone's spine. She fell onto the carpeted floor, still shrieking, hands covering her face. A tear dripped onto her knee. Finally, she said something comprehensible:

"Get the fuck out."

**Westchester, NY**

**Massie's Afterparty – The Block Estate**

**Wednesday, October 24****th**

**9:30 PM**

Claire had been hiding ever since she had been kicked out of the PC. That night, though, she wasn't hiding. She was following someone.

Claire chased after the waiter, who was carrying a tray of tiny sushi. She tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around. The platter was empty.

"What?" Claire's stomach grumbled loudly. "Who took all these? Last I looked, the platter was totally full."

"She did." The waiter pointed at Dylan and disappeared.

Claire looked over. She saw a lock of red hair disappearing behind the bathroom door. She chased after it and banged on the door.

"Dylan?"

She heard retching. Someone was throwing up in the bathroom. Dylan?

Claire's stomach clenched. "Dylan?"

"What? Go away, bitch!" Dylan shouted groggily.

Claire felt hurt, but she recoiled. "Get out of there. I want to talk to you." She rapped on the door.

Dylan pulled it open. "What?" she hissed. "We don't have anything to talk about." She stormed out onto the pool deck. A bottle of champagne floated by the two girls in the water.

"Yes we do. You have a problem – "

"Shut the fuck up!" Dylan screamed. Her face was red. "Quit being such a little bitch Claire! Okay? You've always been…acting all high and mighty when you're no better than the rest of us! And I'm sick of it! I'm _glad _Massie kicked your skinny ass out of the Pretty Committee. You deserve it." Dylan's eyes flashed.

Claire felt small. Everyone was staring at them.

"You _know _you deserved it," Dylan hissed.

Claire felt as if someone had set her insides on fire. That couldn't be more untrue. She opened her mouth, and three words poured out. "Screw you, Dylan."

And then she pushed her into the pool.

Dylan screamed as she fell face-first into the chlorinated water. Waves splashed over the champagne bottles. Someone complained about her hair getting wet. Dylan bobbed to the surface, her nostrils flared. "What the eff?" she screamed. "What was that for?"

Claire didn't answer her. She turned around and walked away.

**AN: Was that an awesome chapter or **_**what? **_**I got it done pretty fast too. Thanks to Tessa for editing and my reviewers for support.**

**Chapter title: **_**Strait-Jacket **_**starring Joan Crawford and Diane Baker. Joan Crawford movies have cool titles. : )**


	15. the great lie

**Westchester, NY**

**The Rivera Estate – Alicia's Room**

**Wednesday, October 27****th**

**10:00 PM**

Alicia clawed at her garters. "I hate this fucking thing! Get it off me!"

Olivia frantically pulled at Alicia's stockings. One of them ripped, wilting to the ground in a pathetic heap. "Okay, it's off."

"I hate Josh!" Alicia screamed, pulling a Juicy shirt over her head. "I hate Aly! I hate the whole effing world!"

"Just calm down, Leesh," Olivia said hesitantly.

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down when my boyfriend is a lying, cheating, bastard?" shouted Alicia, throwing her red bra across the room.. "I can't believe this! I could just rip his nads off!" Alicia stormed over to her dresser and ripped off the picture of Josh she had taped to her mirror. "Eff him!"

"Alicia – "

"I'll show him," Alicia muttered, stabbing the picture with a pair of scissors, "I'll show _both _of them."

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School – Principal Ross' Office**

**Wednesday, October 27****th**

**8:21 PM**

The school was eerily silent. Except for the occasional squeaks of the 'Caution: Wet Floor' sign the janitor was pushing around in the hall, Doyle was very quiet.

Too quiet.

Skye, Kendall, Tessa, and Jackie sat in Principal Ross' office in four cowhide armchairs. Posters of cop shows decorated the walls: _NUMB3RS, CSI, _and _Cold Case. _

"Now…" Principal Ross spun around on his wheeled leather chair. "What have we here?" He pointed to the pile of walkie-talkies that sat on the mahogany desk.

"It's not what it looks like," Skye said desperately.

"Look." Principal Ross leaned forward. The girls leaned back. "Cold Case is going on right now, and I can't miss it. It's the season premiere. So let's make this snappy, all right?" He settled in his seat. "What do you girls think is a proper punishment for embarrassing Miss Evans?"

"Community service?" Jackie perked up, thinking of Dempsey.

"Being towel girls for the soccer team?" Tessa suggested, thinking of Chris.

"Two hour dance detentions with the PE teacher?" Kendall asked.

"Cleaning horse manure at Galwaugh – " Skye was cut off when Jackie elbowed her. Hard.

"How about janitorial sessions with Mr. Crowe?" Principal Ross finally said. "And carting books for Mrs. Weiss at lunch for three weeks."

Mr. Crowe was senile. He thought it was still 1961. And Mrs. Weiss had nosebleeds everyday and had hair growing out of her ears. Principal Ross seemed to know this. He took in the grimaces on each girl's face. "All right, then. Meeting adjourned."

They filed out of Mr. Ross' office. "I'm bringing tissues to school tomorrow," Kendall said.

"A lot of tissues." Tessa wrinkled her nose.

At the end of the hall was a row of lockers. The middle locker had a note taped to it. TESSA, SKYE, JACKIE, & KENDALL was written on it in thick ink.

"What's this?" Skye asked. She ripped the note off the locker and unfolded it.

_Hey bitches!_

_Did you think you could embarrass me and get away with it? _

_You thought wrong._

_Get ready to eat shit tomorrow. _

_-Chels_

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School – The Steps**

**Thursday, October 28th**

**8:14 AM**

WHERE R U? DIDN'T C U LAST NITE. CALL ME. Aly clapped her phone shut. She had sent five text messages to each of her friends asking them to call her back. What was wrong? Had they gotten caught? Aly made her way up the steps, when suddenly a strappy black Michael Kors sandal came into her path and tripped her.

Aly's things flew everywhere – the pink Hello Kitty pen she had used since third grade, the algebra notebook she had doodled rainbows and hearts all over, a pair of dinosaur-imprinted socks – and so did Aly herself. She landed on the steps with a thump.

"Ehmagawd! So sorry! Are you okay?" The strappy sandals came into view. Aly looked up. They belonged to Alicia Rivera.

"I guess?" Aly squeaked as Alicia took her arm and helped her up. The throbbing pain in her butt crack was forgotten. Why was Alicia asking her if she was all right? Why was she picking Aly's obviously-really-chewed-on pencils for her? Why was she smiling as if Aly hadn't kissed her boyfriend last night?

"I hope you didn't break anything," Alicia smiled sweetly.

Aly had a nagging suspicion that Alicia wished the complete opposite.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Range Rover**

**Thursday, October 28****th**

**8:23 AM**

"Be-yotch! Where have you been?" shrieked Kristen as Chelsea climbed into the Range Rover. "You missed an ah-mazing partay!" She enveloped her in a warm hug.

"Love the shirt, Chels," Massie complimented with an approving smile.

"Merci." Chelsea looked fabulous for someone who had just been embarrassed in front of the whole school last night. Her dark hair looked newly re-colored, and she smelled like Clinique Happy. Her Nanette Lepore blouse made her eyes appear sharper, brighter, more animated. Massie could sense Dylan checking out Chelsea's Gucci snakeskin tote. It was like Chelsea had undergone a 24-hour makeover that made her even prettier, more stylish, and ah-mazing than she had been before.

"Ehmagawd, I would be so embarrassed if I were you," Kristen whispered, lowering her voice. "Being humiliated – "

"Kris!" Massie snapped, jabbing her friend in the shoulder.

Chelsea offered the Pretty Committee girls a winning smile. "It's fine, M," she said. "I'm totes over it." She took out her cell phone and beeped out a text message. "Let's get some chai lattes at Starbucks, _si_?"

"Ah-greed," Massie answered, sliding on the buttery leather seat. "I can miss a few minutes of homeroom."

Chelsea smiled. "Dyl, are you up for some coffee? You have been very _strict _about your eating lately," she winked.

Kristen frowned. "What?"

"Nothing," Dylan said quickly. She pretended to be looking for something in her suede Jimmy Choo hobo. "I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm fine."

**Westchester, NY**

**The Hallway – Cam Fisher's Locker**

**Thursday, October 28****th**

**8:31 AM**

"Dude, look at that chick," Kemp Hurley said, eyeballing the beautiful new Slovakian exchange student as she walked down the hall. Cam Fisher kept his eyes on his locker. He slowly arranged his books in class order.

"Hey, man, are you listening to me? I said we should totally hook you up with a girl at the party," Kemp said. He paused to smile at a tall brunette girl with legs to up here. "Dude!" he shouted into Cam's ear. "Are you obsessing over Claire again?"

"I dunno." Cam put his Biology book in front of his Algebra one. "Not really."

"Chelsea? The crazy one? I swear dude, you need to get some." Kemp produced a basketball from his own locker and dribbled it up and down. Sooner or later, Mrs. Patriarca would pop out of nowhere and tell him to put it away. "Naomi is having this sick party on Halloween. You're coming."

"Who's Naomi?"

"This _smoking _junior I know," Kemp replied with a mischievous smile. "She has the hottest friends. Want me to hook you up?"

"Man, you're lame." Cam closed his locker and started down the hall.

"Me? Lame? Hey, I have three girlfriends," Kemp argued, hiding the basketball in his backpack as Principal Ross strolled by. "Besides, you've been a nun ever since you dumped Chelsea."

"Whatever. Look, I got to go." Cam rounded the corner without saying bye and disappeared from Kemp's sight.

Kemp may have been a man-slut, but he was a good friend. He made a mental note to go to the office after school. He had some important business to do.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Doyle School – Math Class**

**Thursday, October 28****th**

**11:04 AM**

Massie chewed on her favorite purple pen, annoyed. Who knew that there was going to be a test today? Who even had time to fucking study? The only thing she had written on the quiz so far was her name and the date. She looked at the first problem, but it didn't make sense. None of it did.

_Neither did her life._

Massie had been trying to get her mind off Derrick since she woke up that morning, but it had been imposs. Her heart belonged to Dempsey. Nawt her ex. Except…why did she keep checking her phone for text messages from Derrick?

So far, there were none. Massie sighed and looked up. Everyone around her was scribbling away. Kristen was writing quickly, efficiently, like she knew what she was doing. Chelsea was already done. She was reading the latest _Teen Vogue _at her desk. She smiled at Massie.

Massie rested her chin on her hand. _Bergdorf calls_, she thought. She needed a pair of shoes for her Halloween costume, and maybe a new sultry perfume to make Derrick swoon.

Ugh. Swoon? Massie pinched her thin arm. She must have meant to think, _make Dempsey swoon. _Nawt Derrick.

She looked up and realized that the timer had only three minutes left. She leaned to the left to check out Annie Wilmer's paper. But Annie covered her answers quickly, as if she could sense Massie's eyes on them.

Massie looked to the right. Kristen. She felt bad about copying Kristen's quiz, but the other girls in the PC used to all the time. Why nawt now? Massie could see all of Kristen's answers clearly. She quickly scribbled them down.

Victory! Massie turned in her paper just as the timer rang, breezed out of the classroom, and nearly crashed into Nora Watson.

"Someone told me to give this to you," she said, handing Massie a folded up sheet of what appeared to be printer paper. When she opened it, she realized it was the quiz she had just taken. Someone had written on it, _F for Fraud! Does anyone else know about your cheating penchant, Mass? _

**Westchester, NY**

**The Block Estate**

**Thursday, October 28****th**

**6:03 PM**

Massie had managed to avoid Claire most of the time at the estate. After all, the Lyons lived in the guesthouse. Whenever Claire glimpsed out of her window to see into the iPad, Massie would draw the curtains triumphantly.

But this night, Kendra had invited them to the main house for dinner. And a movie. _A movie. _Kendra must have been reading one of those stupid family magazines that taught you how to make a cake in the shape of a football field. Massie was indignant. She told her mom she had a test to study for. She was expected at an important society party. She was meeting with the President of the freaking United States.

Kendra didn't take the bait. That night, the Blocks were seated with the Lyons inside the polished dining room. A five-course meal was already underway. Todd was poking at a vase of flowers. Massie was afraid he would knock it over.

"Looks great, Kendra," Judi said with a smile.

"Thank you. Of course, I can't take all the credit. Inez did most of the work."

Massie poked at a tiny crab cake. Claire was looking at her from across the table. Massie slammed down her silver fork. "Do I have something on my face?" she snapped.

Kendra glared pointedly at Massie.

"Suh-orry," Claire answered, not sounding sorry at all.

"Apology accepted," Massie said, batting her long Clinique eyelashes. Then she gave her mother a _are-you-happy-now _look. She peeked under the table to check on her new eggplant-purple Louboutin slides. She had just bought the shoes that afternoon at Barneys and hadn't been able to take her eyes of them ever since. Then Massie saw a chubby hand feeding Bean a crab cake. The hand belonged to Todd.

"Ehmagawd! Bean can't eat seafood! She has an elongated palate!" Massie shrilled loudly.

William's knife clinked. "Young lady, use your indoor voice."

"Sorry, Massie. I'll make it up to you next time," Todd said. He finished off the sentence with a wink that was intended to be flirty but came off as freakishly creepy.

"Whatevs." Massie petted Bean's furry head, not caring if dog fur was all over her new Juicy Couture plaid skirt. "Save it for the first-graders."

"_Massie_." Kendra gave her daughter a warning look. Massie shrugged.

"It's not like Bean's going to die or anything, _Mass_," Claire spoke up courageously. Everyone knew Massie hated being called "Mass."

"Well, as a longtime ferret owner, I'm sure you're right," Massie simpered in a fake voice.

"I don't have a pet." Claire eye-rolled. _Duh._

"Explain the hairs on your upper lip, then, Kuh-laire."

Claire stared, confused.

"Oh!" Massie tipped her head back as if she understood now. "I see. If you're a little…_affectionate_...with animals, then there's no reason to hide it."

"Massie." William stared at his daughter.

Claire's face burned with humiliation. "That's. Not. True."

"Miss-stache? I get it."

"Go to your room, young lady!" Kendra shouted, making Bean jump with surprise and scamper underneath the tablecloth.

Massie stood up from her chair and headed upstairs with her chin held high. She eyeballed Claire. Mission accomplished.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Marvil Estate**

**Thursday, October 28****th**

**7:59 PM**

Claire had cried for a half-hour after the Block's dinner until her parents promised that she could stay at a friend's house for a while. Claire was sure this was what Massie had planned – to be the queen of her castle again. _Well, she got what she wanted._

Although she had begged, Jay didn't want Claire at Layne's. "Doesn't she have an older brother?" Jay had said skeptically. Jay didn't trust teenage boys around his daughter. He thought they all wanted to do horrible things to Claire, like be in the same room with her. Or _date her. _Oh no, not dating.

Claire had accidentally blurted out, "Dylan!"

Now she was standing in the foyer of the Marvil Estate. The floor was heated and marble, and an elegant chandelier hung from the ceiling. The crown molding was elaborate, carved in the shape of…was it angels? Claire squinted at the crown molding until she realized that Dylan was glaring at her from the top of the mahogany staircase.

Merri-Lee wrapped Claire in a warm hug. "Make yourself at home, sweetie," she said, handing her a strawberry-pink silk robe. "It's yours!"

"Thanks." Claire smiled politely. It didn't make sense how a witch like Dylan could have such a nice mom.

Merri-Lee patted her head. "I have a business call to make, so Dyllie, you show Claire the guest room, all right?"

"Of course, mother," Dylan said with a fake smile. She made her way down the staircase, a hand poised on the banister. She wore a bright floral kimono decorated with charmeuse, red, and orange flowers. Her red hair was iron-straight. Claire could smell her Bvlgari shampoo from far away. She certainly didn't _look_ like the type of girl who was bulimic.

"Hey," Claire said in a small voice. "Thanks for letting me stay for a while."

"It wasn't like I wanted you to," Dylan snapped back. "After you pushed me into the pool the other day…"

"I'm sorry about that," Claire replied earnestly. "Really, I am."

Dylan sniffed. "That's fine. But what you heard before that in the bathroom – you're nawt going to tell anyone that. It's nawt like I did anything wrong, anyways. The sushi was bad."

"Of course," Claire said quickly, although she knew Dylan was lying. The sushi had been fine. It was Dylan that wasn't.

Dylan tossed her silky red hair over her shoulders. "The guest room is upstairs, down the hall. To your left. I'm sure you'll find your way just fine." She turned on her heel and marched into the kitchen. Claire suddenly regretted coming here.

She certainly wasn't welcome.

--

**AN: **OMG I FINALLY GOT THAT DONE. After two weeks of procrastinating and ten million rewrites of this chapter, I finished it! Woot! :]

This chapter is called **The Great Lie, **starring Bette Davis and Mary Astor. :]


	16. you can't run away from it

**Westchester, NY**

**Tessa's House**

**Friday, October 29****th**

**8:53 PM**

Jackie and Tessa bounced across the tile floors of Tessa's Spanish home, tiny kernels of popcorn hitting the ground with a quiet _ping. _"What should we watch first?" Tessa asked, gesturing to the piles of DVDs on the suede couch. "Ooh! I know! _The Terminator_," she said in a thick Arnold Schwarzenegger voice.

Jackie stuck her tongue out in disapproval. "We'll start with the chick-flicks and work our way to the action films. Then we might watch something with cowboys in the end."

"Movies don't need a plan," Tessa argued. A rainfall of kernels were already scattered onto the couch.

"We should prank-call someone," giggled Jackie, abandoning the movies.. She grabbed Tessa's phone and the phonebook. "Let's call Chris Plovert!"

"No!" Tessa nearly screamed. She tried to yank the phone out of Jackie's hand. " Not Chris Pl overt!"

Jackie wrestled Tessa off her and pressed the first few digits of Chris' number with her knuckle. " Yes Chris Plovert!" She jumped onto the couch, unpopped kernels bouncing with her.

Tessa screamed and headbutted Jackie. They both landed on the floor in a tangle of arms and legs and spilled popcorn. Jackie hit the Speakerphone button, and a loud ringing sound filled the room.

"_No!" _Tessa shrieked. She threw herself onto Jackie, trying to press Off.

"This is the Westchester Medical Clinic," Jackie trilled as Tessa jabbed her in the stomach, "and we have the results from your test. Congratulations – it's a boy!"

"Uhh…" Chris said.

The line went dead as the sky boomed with thunder. The lights in the house dimmed, once, twice, and it went black. Tessa screamed. "Mommy!" she shouted, jumping onto the couch.

Jackie shoved her head into Tessa's armpit, her shrieks muffled. "The lights," Jackie cried as she switched them on and off. The room remained pitch-black. There was a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning, creating a glow on their faces for a brief moment. Both girls screamed.

" Flashlight!" Tessa scrambled to the drawers and found a small yellow one she had used last year during her Nantucket camping trip. "Let's go to my room and hide under the covers," she squeaked.

Jackie's head was still buried in Tessa's armpit.

They moved unsteadily through the house, banging into tables and chairs. "I need a stretcher," Jackie wailed, her voice barely audible.

Tessa elbowed her. "Shush!" They felt their way upstairs and down the hall into Tessa's room. It felt safer with a fla shlight handy. They fell onto the bed and buried themselves under Tessa's dinosaur comforter.

After a few moments of silence, Jackie whispered, "What is that thing where you count how far the thunder is?"

"I forget," Tessa answered. She propped the fla shlight up so it could be used as a lamp.

"Me too." Jackie stared into the light. She looked like she was three years old. She held up a tiny unpopped kernel. "Want some popcorn?"

Tessa crunched into it. "Ew. I'm only doing this because I'm hungry." She unconsciously put her feet up on the headboard. "And you owe me big time."

"Why?" Jackie bounced two times on the mattress.

"Your head was in my armpit, buttcake!" Tessa whacked Jackie on the shoulder.

"You should get vanilla deodorant next time," Jackie grinned.

Tessa put her feet on the awning window. Her toes seemed to shiver against the cold rain that was pelting against the glass. She heard something bang close to her feet.

"What is that?" Jackie heard it too.

"I don't know." Tessa pushed back the covers and sat up, shining the fla shlight in the direction of the noise. At first, she didn't see it, but something swung across the hinges of the window. It wasn't a person. It was a disposable cell phone with a tex t message typed on it.

Both girls pressed their noses against the glass to read it.

_One bitch, two bitches, three bitches, four…soon enough, one of them will be ruined. See you at the Halloween party! –Chels_

The lights went back on, but it didn't do anything to make Tessa and Jackie feel better.

**Westchester, NY**

**Barneys**

**Friday, October 29****th**

**8:59 PM**

As soon as the blackout was over, Alicia and Aly went to Barneys. Alicia strolled along the racks of expensive clothes as Aly trailed behind her. She seized a Marc Jacobs blazer and held it eye-level. "Isn't this ah-dorale?"

"Sure." Aly shrugged absentmindedly at Alicia. She giggled at a text she had just got.

"Aly!" Alicia snapped. Aly's head snapped up. "Attention! We're doing our winter shopping before the losers start combing through the racks. This is _important._"

"Oh, right. Of course." Aly nodded and dropped her phone back into her oversized Miu Miu hobo. "I like this," she said, holding a Juicy Couture sweater up. Her cell phone rang, and Aly made a move to get it. Alicia eyeballed her. Aly pulled her hand back and stayed still.

"Why don't you try that on," Alicia said, taking Aly's purse and jacket for her. "Actually, why don't you try these on as well?" She handed Alicia a blazer, an evening dress, and two pairs of jeans. "I'll be over here, 'kay? Let me know if you need anything else."

"Okay…" Aly said uncertainly. She took the clothes and disappeared into the fitting rooms.

Once she was out of sight, Alicia grabbed Aly's Miu Miu and ransacked it. She found Aly's cell phone buried underneath piles of dental floss and minty gum. The latest tex t message from Josh read,

_Hey, whtsup? Wanna meet up L8R?_

Alicia checked the fitting rooms. Aly was still inside. She clicked REPLY and typed out a message back,

_Um, no way. I'd never want2 hang out w/ a freak like U._

Josh replied almost immediately.

_Y r u calling me a freak? Wht happened?_

Alicia considered her words. _We're over josh!!! I don't date losers._

Alicia pressed SEND. She del eted the conversation from Aly's inbox, erasing all the evidence. She dropped the phone into Aly's Miu Miu and took out her own cell phone.

_Hey Josh, _she typed out, _Aly just told me she dumped you! So sorry! ):_

Josh's reply was,

_R U free 2Nite? _

Bingo.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Block Estate**

**Friday, October 29****th**

**9:04 PM**

Dempsey smelled like cinnamon buns. Massie loved cinnamon buns. She ate them whenever she didn't feel like caring about her weight. Which wasn't that often. To her, cinnamon buns were a treat. They were only consumed when feeling low. Like when she was feeling angry or sad.

Or lonely.

Derrick hadn't called in days. Supposedly they were the school's newest It Couple. Girls that worshipped the Pretty Committee had supportively created cute couple names, like Merrick or Dassie. "I wis h me and my boyfriend were more like Merrick-slash-Dassie!" Massie had heard Mackenzie Perkins sigh.

Massie realized that not only did Dempsey smell like cinnamon, he tasted like it too. Derrick recently tasted like orange Tic-Tacs, which she liked as well.

But not as much as cinnamon.

Dempsey stepped back from her. "What was that?" he whispered, as if they were FBI agents on a secret mission.

"I don't know." Massie wanted to taste that cinnamon again. She felt his green eyes looking at her lips. She felt self-conscious, but in a good way. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Jackie?"

"Yeah, what's-her-face." Massie stared down at her sequined Miu Miu fla ts.

"I don't know. I thought there was something, but…" Dempsey's voice was fla t. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"I thought there was something too." Massie wanted to grab Dempsey and lick his face. She almost told him to shut up in that steamy romantic way, but thought it might be cheesy. The awkwardness was heightening. "Do you want to make out again?" she asked.

Dempsey stared at her. His chest was rising up and down. He was laughing?

"What?" Massie snapped. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because that was really subtle."

Massie pursed her lips. "Why are you even here?"

"I'm dropping off your jacket. You left it in study hall today," Dempsey replied. He dropped her Juicy Couture poppy coat on the couch. "Now. Do you want to make out?"

Even the way he said it was serious. Massie pretended to think. "Hmmm…I don't have anything else to do, so why not?"

Dempsey laughed. "You suck."

"You suck more." His arms wrapped around her tiny shoulders. Massie felt his brea th against her cheek. She leaned in closer, smelling cinnamon on his neck. Their noses nearly touched.

A dark figure snaked by the floor-to-ceiling bay window.

Massie jumped back from Dempsey, her palms sweating. "Ehmagawd," she cried. "Who was that?"

"Who?" Dempsey turned around. The figure was gone. "I don't see anyone."

"I swear, I…" Massie's voice trailed off. "Maybe it was just an animal."

"Should I go?" Dempsey hovered near the door.

"Yeah. My parents are going to be home any minute." Massie wiped her hands on her Hudson jeans and led him to the foyer. "Sorry."

"It's okay. When can I see you?"

"Soon." Massie knew it wasn't the best answer, but with Derrick still in the picture, it wouldn't be easy. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

Dempsey pressed his cheek against her hair, touching her shoulder. His hands were very warm. "See you." He sounded sad.

Massie watched him disappear into the rainy night. After she closed the door, she set the alarm and locked all the windows in the house.. Even so, a little voice inside her head told her that something was very, very wrong.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Plaza – Sumiko's**

**Friday, October 29****th**

**9:34 PM**

Alicia's phone rang for the third time that night. It was probably a tex t from Aly, asking where she was. She pressed Ignore. Her new low-cut D&G top was working wonders.

But not on Josh.

As some skeevy-looking businessman oogled at Alicia's cleavage, Josh stared at the ceiling. "I don't even know why she said that to me," he said. "I'm not a loser, am I?"

"No way!" Alicia cried. She leaned forward, allowing him a full view of her boobage. "You're so special, Josh. She just doesn't know it."

"You've been hanging out with her a lot lately, right? Has she said anything?"

"Nope. I guess she's just mean on the inside. Let's order, 'kay?" Alicia beckoned the waitress over. "I'll have an iced tea."

"You know, Aly likes iced tea," Josh brooded.

Alicia tried to keep a smile on her face. "Let's share…" she scanned the menu. "…some avocado sushi rolls, okay?" They sounded harmless enough.

" Okay." Josh tried to smile too. The waitress grabbed their menus and whisked away. After a pause, he added, "You look nice tonight."

"Thanks," Alicia purred, turning on the charm. She bravely slipped her foot out of her Christian Dior slide and ran it up and down Josh's leg. His eyes widened.

"Uh…Alicia?"

"Let's go to the bathroom," Alicia declared bravely, squeezing his hand. A wicked smile crossed her face as she led him away.

**Westchester, NY**

**Sumiko's**

**Friday, October 29****th**

**9:53 PM**

Aly's phone was strangely silent. She stared at it with her lips clenched and eyes bulged. She told it that it had a nice keypad and a good camera. She hung it from the ceiling with a scarf and threatened her cell phone that if it did not ring, then a _new _phone – an even better, cooler one – would be quick to replace it.

And then it rang.

Aly pulled at her cell phone frantically. It was only the stupid mass tex t Allie-Rose Singer sent out every night of everyone's whereabouts. Allie-Rose liked to pretend she was Gossip Girl. Aly almost pressed Erase before she saw one line that stood out:

_**A **__and __**J **__at __**Sumiko's**__! These two are too cute!_

A picture of Josh and Alicia sitting at a table in Sumiko's, holding hands. Was that why Josh hadn't texted her back at Barneys? Was that why Alicia had ditched her? Aly's eyes boggled.

Aly stared at the cell phone's tiny screen for twenty-six seconds until she made a decision. She hastily put on her coat. She didn't register that she was wearing her blue snowman pajamas and an old HARVARD t-shirt. Instead, she ran downstairs and slipped on a faded pair of flip-flops. She took a few dollar bills out of her pocket and counted them frenetically as she hurried down the street. She bumped into her neighbor Rodney, who was walking his dog. She narrowly missed a coil of poop on the sidewalk. Aly made her way down the road and hailed a cab. She felt as if someone had just clawed her eyeballs out.

The taxi pulled up to Sumiko's five minutes later. Aly handed her cab money to the driver, then gave him a hefty tip. She knew he deserved it, especially since she had spent the whole ride screaming to put the pedal to the metal. She was sure he thought she was an escaped mental patient. Aly tumbled out of the passenger seat and in front of Sumiko's. Amongst the well-dressed people waiting outside of the restaurant, Aly didn't blend in.

She pushed open the door with numb hands. Josh and Alicia were nowhere to be seen.

Was Allie-Rose lying?

The bathroom. Aly almost spewed chunks all over some Chinese couple's table. The bathroom. Aly kicked and wrestled her way into the women's bathroom. It was empty.

Except for the third stall.

"Omigod," Aly whispered.

"Who's there?" called out a voice. Aly looked down at the clothes strewn on the bathroom tiles. Lacy bra. Tacky tube top. Pastel-colored hooker heels.

"Alicia!" Aly screamed, hurtling herself at their stall.

"Aly!" Alicia opened the door, Josh's shirt draped over her shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Josh?" Aly shouted. She banged the door. Josh emerged, topless. If he didn't look so angry, Aly would have stuffed Alicia's head down the toilet and dragged him into another stall.

"What are you doing here?" Josh snapped.

"What are you doing here? How could you cheat on me?!" Aly shrieked, throwing Alicia's disgusting bra at him. It landed inside the toilet bowl.

"I didn't cheat on you! You called me a loser!" Josh roared.

Alicia buttoned up Josh's shirt. "I'm going to go now," she said quietly.

"You stay right there," Aly said, sounding a lot like a mom. "I did not call you a loser!" she yelled at Josh.

"You tex ted it to me!" Josh snapped. "You called me a freak! You said we were through!"

"I did _not!_" Aly protested..

"Then who did?"

They both looked at Alicia.

"What?" she snarled. "It's nawt like you were good enough for him," she told Aly.

Aly's eyes boggled as she put two and two together. "Are you saying…you stole my phone…and pretended _to be me_?" Her voice seemed to gurgle halfway through.

"Uh, duh!" Alicia snapped. "I deserve Josh! You stole him from me. You…you boy-snatching…_slut!_"

"Ooh, you're one to talk," Aly screamed, "you don't even wear a bra at school!"

"That's nawt true!" Alicia cried. "You're toe-dally making up lies. You're jealous I'm rich, popular, and gorgeous. Well, get over it, slut! You'll never be me!"

Josh put his hands in his pockets. "Can I go?"

"No!" Both girls screamed.

"First of all, I am not a slut!" Aly shouted, too angry to make up a good comeback.

"Yes you are. You kissed Josh. You kissed the one guy I ever loved! You're a bitch!" Alicia pointed a sharp red fingernail at Aly accusingly.

Aly didn't reply. Instead, she charged at Alicia. She grabbed her from around the waist and tackled her. They both landed on the pink tile floors, wrestling. Josh stared, entranced.

"Whore!"

"Skank!"

"Buttcake!"

Alicia grabbed her Dior slide and whacked Aly in the stomach with it. "Josh loves me. Why do you think we were about to do it, huh?"

"He was confused. You took advantage of him!" Aly screamed, pinching Alicia in the side. Hard.

"Yeah, right. He wanted to do it with me!" Alicia grabbed Aly's long hair and pulled. "Take that, ho!"

"I didn't take wrestling for two years for nothin'!" Aly shouted, feeling like Rocky Balboa. She threw herself onto Alicia's back, gripped her arms around her chin, and pulled. Alicia shrieked and fla iled.

"Help, Joshie!" she cried.

Josh took a picture with his cell phone.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Block Estate**

**Friday, October 29****th**

**10:02 PM**

Massie's phone was ringing off the hook. There was some fight at Sumiko's between Alicia and Aly Parker. Massie knew this day would come eventually. She flipped her cell phone shut and sunk into her 600-thread-count pima sheets, ready to doze off. The taste of cinnamon still lingered on her lips.

Her phone rang.

"Ugh!" Massie sat up, turned on the light, and grabbed her phone. It felt warm in her palm. A purple crystal peeled off and landed on the white sheepskin rug. She seriously needed to put some new ones on.

ONE NEW TEXT MESSAGE, the tiny screen read. Massie pressed Read.

_Oh Massie, Massie, Massie. You've gone and gotten yourself in trouble again! Cavorting with charitable, green-eyed, muscular hotties? Tsk, tsk. Wonder what everyone at school will say when they find out about your hypocritical ways…_

-

**AN: **_Will Aly ever make up with Josh? Will Alicia ever get what – or who – she wants? Will Massie finally get a clue and realize who's been stalking her? And will Kristen ever appear for more than two minutes in this story?_

Find out next time on Infamous! ;]

Review!


	17. above suspicion

**Westchester, NY**

**Friday, November 24**

**The Doyle School**

**9:05 AM**

October came and went. Massie and Dempsey made out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Block Estate in the privacy of Massie's room. This was an especially convenient time to "hang out" because Kendra was at her pilates class and William was still at work. Inez was told that they were studying. Massie had a feeling that Inez knew, but suspicion was quickly erased whenever Dempsey called or IM'ed. Most of the time Massie felt giddy and light, like a goose-down pillow.

Kemp had arranged for Cam to bring the new exchange student to Naomi's Halloween party. The girl had skin as white as milk and long bicuspids, like a vampire's. She had called herself Midnight Flame and asked Cam if he'd like to massage her butt twice. Kemp had gotten a brutal beating from Cam after the party.

Chelsea's arms were showing off a new purse everyday – Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci. It was Dylan who was stealing handbags from her mom's closet in exchange for Chelsea's silence. Everytime she walked into Merri-Lee's Coco-scented walk-in, her stomach clenched. Dylan had never hated Chelsea more.

Everyday got a little crisper, a little colder. Leather boots crunched against the newly-fallen brown and orange leaves. The sun set faster and the sky darkened quickly. It was going to be Thanksgiving soon, and the most elite students at Doyle were booking trips to Aspen or France.

It was a Friday. Aly and Tessa walked down the halls with their books, discussing Britney West's new penchant for bra-stuffing. Suddenly, the smell of Ralph Lauren cologne filled the air. Josh Hotz nearly crashed into Tessa. "Aly, I need to talk to you. Please."

Aly marched past him. The thought of Alicia and Josh kissing and touching had made her feel sick all week. She turned into the Nurse's office, mumbling a goodbye to Tessa. Nurse Adele greeted her with a sympathetic smile.

"What's wrong this time, sweetie?"

"I had an allergic reaction to Cheez-Its. I think I need to lie down for a sec."

"Well, do you have an epi pen?"

"A what?" Aly blanched. "Oh, yeah. That. Uh, I left it at home."

"You should always bring it with you, honey," Nurse Adele said. She held up a blue ballpoint pen and a clipboard. "Name?"

"Aly Parker." Aly smiled sweetly and disappeared behind the quarantine fish-patterned curtain. It made a loud crinkling noise as she swept it closed and sat down on the twin bed covered in white tissue paper. She turned on her cell phone and scrolled through her messages. She had five new voicemails and three texts, all from Josh.

She pressed DELETE and lay down.

**Westchester, NY**

**Friday, November 24**

**The Doyle School**

**9:10 AM**

Dylan felt a buzz in the pocket of her Hudsons. She outlined the rim of her cell phone screen as she raised her hand. "Can I go to the bathroom?" she asked Mrs. Elder. Without waiting for a reply, she stood up and walked out the door with her Marni purse. Mrs. Elder was too senile to notice her surroundings.

Dylan took out her cell phone. "Hello?" she asked, even though she knew exactly who it was.

"Hey darling," Chelsea's syrupy voice chirped. "I'm craving something pretty, like YSL, from Bendel's. _Oui_?"

Dylan gritted her teeth. Over the past few weeks, she had been stealing expensive purses from Merri-Lee. Her mother was sure it was Conchita, their housekeeper, so she had fired her. Dylan felt bad – she had cost an innocent lady her job – but then she remembered Chelsea's threats. So she kept delivering the limited-edition Givenchy satchels and vintage Chanel hobos.

"Bendel's?" Dylan echoed.

"I'm sorry, I thought you understood English."

"I do, it's just…I have school right now, duh." Dylan snapped.

"Notice how my voice didn't go up at the end? Nawt a question." There was a click. Chelsea had hung up.

Dylan let out a frustrated sigh. She stuffed her cell phone into her backpack and tiptoed towards the front doors. She looked around. No one was watching her. She burst through the exit before she changed her mind and started down the street.

An overweight guy wearing headphones jogged in front of her. His music was so loud, Dylan could tell it was an Elliot Smith song. Two sixth-grade girls walked along the crosswalk, laughing loudly and comparing nails. An old lady carrying two bags of groceries bent down to pick up her keys. Everything was fine. The earth was still spinning.

Dylan headed towards the Bendel's on Seventh Street. She thought about taking a cab, but she knew she had to skimp on the money – Bendel's was not cheap. She crossed the street behind the sixth-grade girls. The wind was sharp against her cheeks. She approached Bendel's. The parking lot was quiet.

Inside, Dylan felt warm again. She headed into the clothing department, smiling 'no thanks' to a pushy handcream saleswoman. The racks of sweaters, jackets, and blouses felt familiar and cozy, and Dylan almost wanted to buy something for herself. She admired a chic gray Yves peacoat. Chelsea would like it. Dylan checked the pricetag: 1100 dollars.

Her stomach dropped. She only had 200 on her. She fumbled through her wallet for her AmEx, but it wasn't there. She contemplated calling her mom to pay for it, but then she'd have to explain why she was at Bendel's instead of Doyle. Dylan whipped out her cell phone.

"Chelsea? I don't have enough money," she said.

"Too bad." Dylan heard shuffling. "_Hey, who wants to hear something about Dylan Marvil?_" Chelsea's voice sounded shrill and far away.

"No! What? No! I'll get whatever you want for you! Okay? Just don't say anything!" yelped Dylan.

There was a pause. "All right," Chelsea replied, her voice buttery smooth. "Ta ta!" _Click._

Dylan gulped. She slipped her phone back into her pocket and glanced around the store. The other clothes on the rack were even more expensive – there was no way she could weasel her way out of this one. Dylan looked down at her purse. It was a humongous Marni city bag, big enough to store a pair of boots and three textbooks.

And a peacoat.

Dylan took the YSL jacket and glanced at it. It was so pretty and delicate. It didn't deserve to be worn by a witch like Chelsea. Dylan bit on her lower lip. She strode over to a secluded corner of the store, behind a display of bright evening dresses, and opened her purse. She stuffed the jacket in hastily. Once again, no one had noticed her.

Dylan let out a sigh. There was something horribly energizing about stealing. She couldn't wait to get back to school. She might have missed second period, but she could fudge a late pass and get by. Dylan walked past the evening dresses, weaving through the racks of clothes. A big breath of relief escaped from her lips.

Suddenly, she noticed Kendra Block inspecting a green Michael Kors coat. She wore a pair of Earl jeans and a flimsy white blouse. A pair of Fendi glasses sat on top of her head. She looked up, as if she sensed someone looking at her. "Dylan!" she cried.

Oh, no.

"Hi," Dylan said with a weak smile.

"Why aren't you at school?" Kendra asked.

"Oh, yeah…" Dylan said, sweat forming on the back of her neck, "I'm going off-campus to…"

"To what?" Kendra clipped her sunglasses closed.

"To go on the education field trip. For home ec," Dylan blurted. "Yeah. We're learning about the manufacturing of clothes."

"That's great! Where are the rest of your classmates?"

"Um, I don't know. I guess I got lost. It's hard to stay focused in Bendel's, huh?" Dylan tried to laugh as heartily as possible.

Suddenly, a fat lady wearing leapord print jostled past Dylan. Her elbows jabbed her in the stomach and she fell down. Her huge Marni city bag turned over and the peacoat spilled out.

Kendra looked down, surprised. "That's a lovely jacket," she said.

"Um, yeah. I hate using shopping bags, you know," Dylan blabbed. "So I just leave it in my purse."

"Why don't you put it on?" asked Kendra, wrapping the peacoat around Dylan's shoulders. "It's so very chic." She smiled. "Yves Saint Laurent?"

"Umm, yeah, how did you – "

"Excuse me, miss," said a wispy, sandpapery voice, "did you pay for that jacket?" It was a wiry saleswoman who reeked of Shalimar perfume. She loomed above Dylan, her red fingernails like daggers.

"Huh?" Dylan asked. "I – I – "

"The security cameras caught you trying to steal it," the woman snapped. Her clawlike hands pulled the peacoat off Dylan's shoulders. Kendra watched with wide, hungry eyes.

"Um, I – "

"I think you should leave, miss," the saleswoman sniffed, directing Dylan towards the exit. She gasped as the lady closed Bendel's glossy double doors on her.

Dylan could still see Kendra inside, staring at Dylan as if she was seeing her for the first time.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Block Estate – iPad**

**Friday, November 24**

**2:02 PM**

Massie felt Dempsey's arms, warm and welcoming, going around her hips, bumping against her back. She reached up to kiss him, their lips fitting around each other like puzzle pieces. Bean growled from her place on the floor. She yapped at Dempsey's foot.

"Bean! Shh!" Massie broke away from Dempsey's kiss. "Shh!"

Bean silenced, but her teeth were bared. Dempsey chuckled and scooted off Massie. "She doesn't like me, huh."

Massie propped her elbows up. "It doesn't matter what Bean thinks," she remarked breathlessly, pulling him closer to her. Their lips barely touched, their breaths mingling.

Suddenly, Massie's phone rang loudly. She sat up, irritated, and snatched it off the dresser. "Sorry," she said, reading the text, "I have to meet Chelsea."

"Really?" Dempsey took her small hand in his and squeezed it.

"Yeah." Massie got off the bed and flattened her hair in the full-length mirror. "We'll finish this up on Sunday."

Dempsey sighed and stood up. "I have to go too. I'm meeting Jackie for lunch."

Massie's heart slowly stopped. She kept forgetting that Dempsey had a girlfriend, that she was the other woman. Remembering that made her feel as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her head.

"Bye." Dempsey planted a kiss on her head. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Massie said as he left the room. She listened to his footsteps echo down the stairs. Bean barked.

**Westchester, NY**

**Saturday, November 25**

**Jackie's House**

**7:03 PM**

On Saturday morning, every student who attended Doyle received a newsletter about the first annual educational field trip to Rome, Italy. The newsletter was thicker than usual that day, filled with information about hotels and supervision and money. Jackie flipped open the envelope. She put it down and grabbed her cell phone.

"Hey! Did you get that thingy about Rome?" she asked giddily.

Dempsey sounded faraway. "Wh – huh?"

"Are you okay?"

"Just, uh, tired. I fell asleep." He coughed. "Yeah, I think I might go. Sounds cool. Look, my mom's calling me. I have to – "

"No – yeah, I understand," Jackie said, and pressed END before she could hear Dempsey hang up on her. Lately, Dempsey hadn't been talking to her as much. IM's from him were distracted and his texts were becoming shorter. Jackie was worried, but she tried not to think about it. Instead she called Tessa. The answering machine picked up.

"_Drop a line, we won't mind_," Tessa's voice sang out, "_never fear, Tessa's not here!" _Beep. Jackie began to talk.

"Sleepover, my house in ten," Jackie said. "And you really need to erase that lame recording." She hung up and squeezed her eyes shut. She had never been to Rome before. She imagined riding on a gondola with Dempsey. Having pillow fights with her friends. Having late-night parties in the hotel.

Then her phone beeped.

_Poor Jackie! I guess Dempsey didn't want to be your knight in shining armor anymore… -C_

There was a blurry picture underneath the message. Jackie squinted. It looked like two people hugging. It looked a lot like…

Jackie's heart lurched as she threw her phone across the room. It shattered into a million pieces and lay there on the carpet, dead.

**Westchester, NY**

**Saturday, November 25**

**Jackie's House – Sleepover**

**1:54 AM**

It was one in the morning and everyone was asleep. Kendall and Skye were sprawled on Jackie's bed. Tessa was lying, curled in a ball, deep inside her sleeping bag. Kendall was making barking noises in her sleep and laughing. "Dance for me, Fluffy!" she cried.

Skye shifted on the bed, rubbing at her crusty eyes. She propped her elbows up to see the time. The glowing red numbers of the digital clock said it was 1:56. She turned to lie back down, but a shadow caught her a eye – a shadow that looked very familiar.

Her heart beat loudly as the silhouette came closer to the bed. She saw its hand pressing the lamp switch. Light flooded the room, and suddenly she knew exactly who the shadow was.

It was Chelsea.

Skye almost screamed, but Chelsea leaped towards her and stuffed a ball of cloth into her mouth. She produced a tiny revolver from her pocket and pressed it against Skye's stomach. "Wake up your friends."

Skye nudged Kendall and Jackie, who grunted and sat up. "What's going – " Before Jackie could finish her sentence, both she and Skye had been gagged.

"If you try to run, I'll kill you," Chelsea said, cocking her gun.

Kendall made a fist in her direction.

"When I shoot, your parents will wake up," Chelsea said with a gleam in her eye. "They'll find your brains splattered across the room…" She made a sweeping motion with her hands. "What a beautiful wallpaper that will make."

Skye shuddered.

"_This_ is my revenge," Chelsea said, smiling. Her teeth looked like fangs. She pointed the revolver at them.

Suddenly, Tessa unrolled herself from the depths of her sleeping bag and sprang up behind Chelsea, leaping onto her back. A shot rang out and the glass in the window shattered. Tessa swung around on Chelsea's back like a crazed tilt-a-whirl. The gun dropped onto the floor and a second earth-shattering _boom _was heard throughout the cul-de-sac. Chelsea flailed her arms, whacking Tessa off her back, just as Kendall pushed her.

Chelsea went flying out of the window, James-Bond style. The girls watched in horror as she disappeared from their view. There was a loud "crack," and then nothing.

"What's going on?" screamed Mrs. Monroe, running into the room. Her face was covered in ghostly white skin cream. "I heard gun-shots. Is anyone hurt?" The sound of sirens echoed in the distance.

"Omigod," Jackie whispered.

"I killed Chelsea Evans," Kendall gasped.

**AN: **I have been hiding in a cave lately dealing with difficult, difficult dilemmas involving shoes and not attending to Infamous, but don't blame me – I have a life. Ish. And I promise I will be back online soon, but I'm going to take some time (painting my nails) and start being productive (while watching Desperate Housewives). So yes, I know I am sort of leaving you hanging on a little thread but I am a very busy person.

Yeah, I have like, lots of shopping to do.

This chapter is called **Above Suspicion **starring Joan Crawford and Basil Rathbone.


	18. deception

**Westchester, NY**

**Westchester Hospital – Waiting Room**

**Sunday, November 27**

**3:21 AM**

Tessa rocked back and forth on the cushy puke-colored chair in the Westchester Hospital waiting room. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair was disheveled, and she was still in her Tweety Bird pajamas. The TV blared. Tessa stared straight ahead, biting her nails. She had really gotten herself into a mess this time. She closed her eyes. What if Chelsea _died? _She and her friends would be blamed for eternity. The Pretty Committee would murder their families.

Even worse, what if Chelsea lived?

Kendall leaned on Jackie's shoulder, sobbing. She wasn't crying because of Chelsea – she was worried about what would happen if anyone found out that she was a killer. She had been the one to push Chelsea out the window, after all. Would she be sent to jail? The thought was so nauseating, she burst into tears again.

Jackie jiggled her leg up and down as Kendall cried into her shoulder. They had been in the waiting room for over a half hour, waiting for some news about Chelsea. Their parents were out buying food and blankets for them and other kinds of crap they didn't need. She shuddered – what if Tessa hadn't slept on the floor that night? What if…Jackie stared at an ugly painting on the wall. She decided to think about something else.

Skye sat next to Kendall, hugging her knees to her chest. She ran the events of two hours ago through her head: Chelsea sneaking into their room through the open window. Chelsea turning on the lights and gagging them. Chelsea waving a gun at them like a lunatic. Tessa grabbing onto her. A gunshot. Window shattering. Kendall pushing –

Skye pressed Pause in her mind. Kendall hadn't really meant to shove Chelsea out the window, obviously, but it probably wouldn't look that way to the cops. And Chelsea's parents. Skye gulped. She imagined herself walking onto the set of _Judge Judy _in an orange prison jumpsuit.

Massie, Dylan, and Kristen rushed into the waiting room. Unlike the others, they were wearing street clothes and makeup. Massie charged past Dylan and pointed accusingly at Tessa. "What did you _do?_"

"Me?" Tessa shrieked.

"Did you kill her?" Kristen barked out at no one in particular, startling a middle-aged woman slumped on a chair nearby.

Dylan was having mixed feelings about Chelsea's incident. Her mother had gotten a call from a friend who lived in Jackie's neighborhood. Merri-Lee had insisted on Dylan going to visit Chelsea. She was off somewhere buying flowers.

Dylan felt sorry for Chelsea, but not sorry enough.

"Why is _she _crying?" asked Massie, narrowing her eyes at Kendall. "I bet you killed her!"

"No!" Skye shrilled. "Chelsea fell out of the window! Which the _gunshot _caused!"She lifted slightly out of her seat.

Kristen gasped. "What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything," Skye said. "Sort of. Maybe. Perhaps." She fiddled with the silver chain around her wrist.

"Gunshot?" Dylan's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

Tessa coughed. "Uh, Chelsea, um, she had a – "

"Spit. It. Out!" Massie paced back and forth in front of Tessa, her eyes like daggers.

"She had a gun," Tessa said, swallowing hard.

The waiting room was silent except for the sound of the TV.

"You're kidding," Kristen said, her mouth dropping open. She ran a hand through her loose blonde hair, making it fan out across her shoulders. "What for?"

"To attack us!" Kendall screamed hysterically. Skye patted her arm and handed her a tissue.

"No way," Massie said, squinting at them. Her purple Uggs squeaked against the peach linoleum. "And why would she do that?"

Jackie opened her mouth, "Because we embarrassed her at the tal – "

Tessa elbowed her, hard. "She's been sending us messages," she said. "And stalking us. Trying to find out our secrets."

Dylan blurted out, "She was sending me messages, too!"

Massie and Kristen whirled on her. "She was?" gasped Massie, her charm bracelet jingling. "Why?!"

Dylan swallowed. "Look, you guys…Chelsea was, uh, sort of…she was kind of…a little…"

"She was a crazy!" Kendall shouted, waving a Kleenex in the air like a surrender-flag. "She tortured us!"

"Don't say it!" Massie snapped, her hands curling into fists. "She never did anything to you! Chelsea was innocent! You're just a bunch of…unfashionable…lying…LBRs!"

"Wow, that's really mature," Tessa said, crossing her arms.

"Chelsea wasn't innocent," Dylan blurted out.

Every head in the waiting room swiveled around to look at her.

Dylan's green eyes widened as she clapped a hand over her mouth, as if she had just said that John McCain was sexy.

"What do you mean?" Kristen asked, glancing in Dylan's direction.

"Here." Dylan pulled out her phone and went to her inbox.

_Hey Dylan! Just wanted to check in on you! "Period cramps", did you say? _

_I'm totally enjoying the Prada. Thanks a bunch, sweetie!_

_-C_

_P.S. Weren't you at Moonlight last night? Funny, is it, that you didn't see Chris fighting over Tessa?_

Massie narrowed her eyes. "'Period cramps?'" she echoed.

"'Thanks a bunch?'" Kristen said, wrinkling her brow.

"She was blackmailing me," Dylan said after a moment's hesitation. "She was telling me all this stuff that she knew I wouldn't like. Like about Tessa and Chris." Dylan swallowed and tried not to look in Tessa's direction. "She made her buy her stuff. I had to _shoplift _for her."

Massie gasped. "Are you serious? Is that why you bought her that Prada?"

Dylan nodded.

"Now do you believe us?" Skye said crossly.

Massie ignored her. "Why was she blackmailing you?"

Dylan gulped. "I…I can't say."

Jackie groaned. "Come on, tell us!"

The Pretty Committee glared at her and took several steps farther away, huddling around in a small circle to talk. "Why didn't you say something, Dyl?" Kristen whispered.

"Because I – " Dylan swallowed a lump in her throat. "Because I knew she'd make me pay. I think she's the reason why Claire and Leesh got kicked out." A tear slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away with her sleeve. "I'm sorry, Massie."

Massie blinked. This was a lot of information to take in. She let out a big breath and licked her lips. She tasted her Burt's Bees balm. She still wasn't able to wrap her mind around the idea. Dylan being blackmailed by Chelsea – but after a while, she remembered the events of the past few months. Dylan being jumpy and weird. Chelsea showing off new expensive purses each day. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Does this mean Claire and Alicia…?" Kristen trailed off, waiting for an answer.

Massie remembered the anonymous note she had gotten after cheating off Kristen's math test: _F for Fraud! Does anyone else know about your cheating penchant, Mass? _Had that been Chelsea's work? After all, Dylan had been sent messages just like it.

Then there was the text about Dempsey that said, _Oh Massie, Massie, Massie. You've gone and gotten yourself in trouble again! Cavorting with charitable, green-eyed, muscular hotties? Tsk, tsk. Wonder what everyone at school will say when they find out about your hypocritical ways…_

Massie didn't want to think about it. Instead, she turned back to her friends. "I don't know," she managed wearily.

"Okay," Kristen and Dylan said in small voices. Slowly, they shuffled back into the waiting room.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Marvil Estate **

**Sunday, November 27**

**6:14 AM**

Claire woke up to the sound of the front door slamming and the clacking of Dylan's shoes on the marble floor. Where had Dylan gone to so early in the morning? What had she been doing? Claire hazily remembered hearing the TV blaring loudly late at night.

She kicked off her 250-count sheets and threw on the silk bathrobe Merri-Lee had given to her during her first night here. There were definitely perks in living at the Marvil Estate, like being able to eat your meals in your bed or having heated bathroom floors. Claire tiptoed into the hallway, down the spiraling staircase, and into the kitchen.

Dylan sat at the table, alone. A bowl of soggy cereal sat in front of her. Her eyes were glassy and her makeup looked smeared. Claire felt a rush of sorrow for Dylan – about her eating disorder and the rumor going around about her shoplifting at Bendel's, about her nasty breakup with Chris Plovert and her fighting with Tessa Berliner. Claire opened her mouth to say "good morning" or "mind if I join you?"

But at that moment, Dylan looked up and snapped, "You look like a buttcrack."

There were many perks in living at the Marvil Estate. Dylan was not one of them.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Westchester Hospital **

**Sunday, November 27**

**6:22 AM**

Tessa, Jackie, Skye and Kendall had been in the waiting room for the whole night. Dr. Thomas, Chelsea's oddball doctor, had given them lollipops and assured them that Chelsea was just peachy. He had been vague, giving little information about her current condition.

Tessa wasn't here because she cared for Chelsea. She was here because she was worried about what would happen once she woke up. Would Chelsea blurt out that Kendall had pushed her? Would she lay all the blame on the other girls? Maybe she would scream and throw a vase at them instead. How nice that would be.

"I'm hungry. We're going to get some snacks. You want some?" Skye asked, emptying her pockets for loose change. Tessa shook her head. The others disappeared down the hall towards the vending machines. Tessa sighed as a tall, lean, brunette woman sat down next to her.

"I'm waiting for my daughter Chelsea," the woman said, checking her Chanel wristwatch. She had a wide mouth perfect for yelling at people and cheekbones sharp enough to cut ice.

Tessa opened her mouth, preparing herself to say that she was waiting for Chelsea too. But at the last minute, she blurted out, "I'm very sorry. What happened to her?"

Mrs. Evans sighed. "She tried to hurt some classmates of hers. It's really a hassle. She's always gotten into trouble at her old schools. Never really made any friends. Do you know how many meetings I've had to skip to go talk to her principal? It's maddening."

Tessa smiled nervously. She had never actually heard anyone say the word "maddening" out loud before. "Wow…really?"

Mrs. Evans nodded and tapped her Cole Haan heel against the white linoleum floor impatiently. "Who are you here for?"

"Chels – " Tessa accidentally blurted out. She stopped herself right in time. " – enfrau. Chelsenfrau…" Tessa scrambled to think of a name. Her eyes fell on her red Converse." – Chelsenfrau Shu."

Mrs. Evans looked puzzled. "Chelsenfrau Shu?"

"Yes," Tessa murmured. "She's a dear friend of mine. Her ancestors are, uh, Indian Vikings. Chelsenfrau was, um, walking along the street and a building structure fell on her…which cracked her head in half." She coughed. "Really coincidental."

Mrs. Evans nodded, her eyes squinting behind her horn-rimmed glasses. Tessa coughed and stared at the TV screen. It hadn't occurred to her how very few people had come to visit Chelsea.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Rivera Estate**

**Sunday, November 27**

**9:14 PM**

"Look at this, _mija_!" Nadia Rivera cried, waving a black-and-white copy of _The Westchester _in the air. "Isn't that your friend?"

Alicia panted as she grabbed a bottle water out of the Sub-Zero. She had just been out on her morning jog in nothing but a sports bra and Juicy shorts. All the middle-aged men driving past her had oogled unbashedly. The attention made Alicia feel rejuvenated and confident once again – about Josh, about Aly, about everything. She absently glanced at the newspaper her mother was flapping in the air. Her eyes widened.

Chelsea's school picture was printed out on the front page. She smiled perkily at the camera, her dark hair tumbling down a shoulder. The headline boasted, TEENAGE GIRL ATTEMPTS TO MURDER FRIENDS. A huge river of words swam in front of Alicia's eyes. "Mom, what is this?" Her voice shook.

Nadia sighed. "Your old friend Chelsea," she said, her voice thick and accented, "got into a lot of trouble last night. Tried to kill some girls from school. You know, the police searched her house and found her cell phone. They think she was trying to exploit them – "

Alicia gasped. "And?"

"Your old friends too. Chelsea was sending them texts." Nadia scoffed and sipped at her coffee. "A little too crazy for me!"

Alicia felt a jumble of emotions wrapping around her like a blanket. Relief – everyone would finally know that Chelsea was a lying, manipulative bitch. Anxiety – did this mean she was back in the Pretty Committee?

Alicia looked down at Chelsea's picture. She could swear she was smirking at her.

**Westchester, NY**

**The Block Estate – The iPad**

**Sunday, November 27**

**2:43 PM**

Massie shrugged out of her red Chloe jacket and flung it onto her bed as she walked into her room. Bean scampered in front of her, curling up on her violet cashmere dog-bed. Massie flopped down onto her milano chaise and checked her cell phone. Nothing.

She turned on some Lady Gaga music, but the techno beat did nothing to soothe her nerves. Ever since Chelsea had been admitted to the hospital, Massie had been jumpy and anxious, checking her text messages every minute and calling the others every hour to see if they had an update.

No matter how hard she tried, Massie couldn't bring herself to hate Chelsea. Chelsea had been there for her. Massie texted her whenever she wanted a spa weekend or whenever she wanted to vent about some LBR. Chelsea was her personal style consultant, her confidante, her friend. Massie still the blue Marc Jacobs cardigan she had borrowed from her and never returned. She still had Chelsea's bottle of Clinique Happy on her dresser. Massie realized this Lady Gaga song had been Chelsea's ringtone. She shut it off.

Massie stared at the ceiling. After a moment, she grabbed the remote and turned on the plasma TV.

Winkie Porter held a microphone up to her shimmering mouth as she stared into the camera lens. A slight breeze blew the ruffles on her Trina Turk blouse. " – Chelsea Evans, who attends the Doyle School, threatened to shoot four of her classmates last night. She fell out of the second-story window out of the house when one of the girls attempted to stop her. Police are currently still investigating the case."

The camera cut to a scene in front of a glossy black building. A statuesque brunette woman wearing a pinstriped suit and glasses hurried across the parking lot as the cameramen followed after her. "My daughter never told me she owned a gun." Massie had to guess that the woman was Mrs. Evans. "I have no idea how she got her hands on one." She briskly turned away.

The camera panned over to the front of the Doyle School. Mrs. Patriarca eagerly grabbed the microphone Winkie Porter held out to her. Massie could see that she had lipstick on her teeth. "Miss Evans was a typical teenage girl," she blustered. "I never knew she had the nerve to point a gun at someone."

"And as principal of the school – "

Mrs. Patriarca cut her off. "Oh, no, I'm not the principal. He is." In the distance, Principal Ross waved.

Winkie Porter smiled at the camera before turning back to Mrs. Patriarca. "Was Miss Evans well-liked amongst her classmates?"

"Of course she was!" Mrs. Patriarca blared. "Although there was this prank at the tal – "

"That'll be all for today," Winkie said, cutting her off. She grabbed the microphone from Mrs. Patriarca as the camera focused back onto her. "The viciousness of young girls these days is almost unfathomable," Winkie said seriously, " so unfathomable, the outcome could result in a near-death experience. Be careful when choosing your friends – and your enemies. Back to you in the studio, Greg."

Massie turned off the TV and buried her face in a pillow, trying to be as still as possible. Suddenly, she was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking straight down at the abyss of darkness that waited beneath.

Right next to her was Chelsea, wearing the same frilly Marchesa dress from the first time they went shopping together. Massie's shoe slid forward, and a lone pebble fell off the edge of the cliff and disappeared. Her dream-self swallowed nervously.

"Aren't you glad I didn't get you?" Chelsea said, and her words echoed all around her, over and over again.

Dream-Massie saw pieces of paper littered all over the canyon floor. She bent down and picked one up. Words like _SLUT, LOSER, _and _FAKE _were written all over them in dripping red ink.

A pair of hands grabbed the back of her shoulders and pushed her.

Massie jerked awake. Her pillow was soggy and her hair was sticking in the other direction. She must have fallen asleep. The clock said it was 5:43 PM. She realized that her phone was ringing. She grabbed it off the dresser. "Hello?" she croaked

"Massie." It was Dylan. "Chelsea woke up."

**Westchester, NY**

**Westchester Hospital**

**Sunday, November 27**

**5:52 PM**

Massie tripped out of the Range Rover. "Thanks Isaac," she mumbled, slamming the door behind her. She raced to the front desk, past the nurses pushing wheelchairs and stretchers. "Hi, I'm looking for Chelsea Evans?" she asked the receptionist, trying not to sound frazzled.

The nurse checked her computer. "Yes, she's in room 231."

Massie nodded, hurrying off. Her heart pounded. Was Chelsea okay? Was she a vegetable now? She hurried down the hall, her legs moving fast. She wanted to see Chelsea, and she also didn't. Would things be different now? Would she be banished from the Pretty Committee? Massie was dying to talk to her. Her mind overflowed with questions.

Massie halted once she reached the outside of 231 and peered through the glass. Dylan and Kristen sat at the end of the bed, talking quietly. Dr. Thomas, Chelsea's doctor, was checking her heartbeat with his stethoscope. Mrs. Evans stood next to her daughter, glancing at her watch and tapping her foot impatiently. Massie barged in without giving it another thought. "I'm here!"

Dr. Thomas flashed her a peppy smile. "Goodness gracious! You got here fast!"

Massie ignored Chelsea's weirdo doctor and rushed over to the bed. "Are you okay?" she blurted out, taking Chelsea's hand. "Do you feel dizzy or whatever?"

She looked over at Kristen and Dylan. They were both staring at the floor. Kristen swung a soccer-toned leg back and forth, her knee bumping against the bedpost. Dylan's shoulders slumped forward, Kori Gedman-style.

Massie furrowed her brow. "Um…what's going on?" Dylan shook her head. Kristen looked down at her Pumas.

Chelsea lifted her head, squinting underneath the bright fluorescent lights. Massie leaned forward expectantly. "Yeah, Chels?"

Chelsea cleared her throat. "Who are you?"


	19. it should happen to you

**Westchester, NY**

**The Block Estate: Massie's Room**

**Sunday, December 1****st**

**11:03 AM**

It was nearly 11 when Massie woke up. She had never slept so late before.

Massie kicked off her blanket. She thought about taking a shower, but realized it didn't really matter. She pulled a sweater over her tank top and slid into her Earl jeans. She could smell pancakes downstairs.

"_Massie!_" Kendra shouted. "Breakfast!"

Massie quickly ran a brush through her hair. "Coming." She hardly raised her voice.

She trudged down the stairs. Her toenail polish was chipped. She moved slowly. Kendra was putting a vase of yellow Gerber daisies on the table. They were fake, Massie realized. She didn't like fake flowers.

A steaming pile of pancakes sat on the counter. Massie threw five onto a plate, doused them in syrup, and sat down.

"Good morning, honey," Kendra said. She was making an effort to be nice and attentive to her daughter's needs. Not that she hadn't been before, but the Chelsea incident must have taken a toll on her. "Want some low-fat milk?"

"Nah." Massie swallowed a whole pancake. Loudly. She could smell her own sweat. It was disgusting. She also thought it was kind of cool.

Kendra poured Massie a glass anyway. "I have a Garden Club meeting today, and then yoga with Nadia. Massie, would you like to come?"

"Mmm?" Massie's cheeks bulged with pancakes.

"Answer your mother, sweetheart," William called from the kitchen area.

Massie chewed and talked at the same time. "No thanks. I'm good." She reached for more pancakes.

"What are you doing with your friends today? Are Alicia and Claire coming?" Kendra brought up Massie's old friends constantly. It was annoying.

"I'm done," Massie said, pushing her plate away. She had eaten seven pancakes, all caked in syrup. "Can I be excused?"

"Of course." Kendra's smile was frozen on her face.

Massie went upstairs and cleaned up some of the crap that was lying on her floor. She pulled on a warmer jacket and a pair of sunglasses, even though it wasn't sunny outside.

Westchester, NY A&P

**Sunday, December 1****st**

**11:15 AM**

Tessa's stash of Swedish fish had run out. It was nearly impossible for her to survive a day without her favorite candy, so she bribed Isaak into driving her to the A&P. She was going to buy truckloads of Swedish fish. Then she was going to go home, play Guitar Hero, and write a song about how much life sucked. Today would be Tessa Day.

Tessa was filling her basket with bags of Swedish fish when she felt someone breathing on her neck.

"What are you doing here?"

Tessa turned around. Chris was wearing jeans and a shirt that fell perfectly across his toned abs. His hair was sticking up. He was drinking a Coke. He never looked more beautiful.

Tessa took a deep breath. "I…am…shopping. What are you doing here?"

"My grandma's buying lottery tickets."

"Oh." Tessa coughed. She desperately wished Chris had caught her buying something else besides bags full of fish-shaped candy. "So, um, how are you?"

"Good. Uh, you?"

"Fine."

"Yeah, so, did you call me the other day? You know, the day of the storm? Something about…"

"What?" Tessa asked, baffled. "Um…oh! That! That was…not me."

"It sounded like Jackie."

"Yeah, she's a crazy…" Tessa trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence. She wished Chris's grandmother would hurry up and buy her freaking lottery tickets.

"So, how's everything, you know? You and Dylan…?" Tessa wished she hadn't said those words. She could feel her neck prickling uneasily.

"She hasn't talked to me in a while," Chris said. He took a sip of his Coke. "I'm not sure. What about you and Derrick?"

Tessa almost laughed out loud. She hadn't spoken to Derrick since Moonlight. It was too awkward. Besides, he was dating Massie. "We're okay," she told him instead.

Chris looked behind him. "I have to go now, so, um…"

"Yeah, sure. Bye. Enjoy your beverage." Tessa's voice cracked a little. These were the lamest words she had ever said to anyone. Ever. But, really. They weren't even together anymore.

So it didn't matter.

**Westchester, NY**

**Sunday, December 1****st**

**Barneys**

**11:22 AM**

Jackie admired the amethyst bracelet the woman at the jewelry department had let her try on. It sparkled like a galaxy's worth of stars. If only the bracelet didn't cost as much as her house. Jackie took it off and handed it back to the saleswoman. A girl was standing next to her, trying on a pair of diamond earrings. Jackie wished she would hurry up. She wanted to try them on herself.

Suddenly, the girl looked in the mirror, and Jackie knew _exactly _who it was: Massie Block. But what was she doing here? And why did she look as if she had just stumbled out of rehab?

Jackie stood there until she couldn't take it anymore. "Massie," she said.

Massie turned around. She hadn't bothered taking off her Chanel sunglasses. "Oh. It's you."

Jackie swallowed. "Look, I know you kissed Dempsey."

Massie's face didn't change, but her mouth turned down a little. The diamond earrings swayed back and forth. "Who told you?"

"Chelsea."

Massie stared down onto the floor. "What am I supposed to say?" she asked.

"You could apologize for being such a slut," Jackie said.

Massie's eyebrows furrowed. "Excuse me? Why is it my fault that you couldn't keep your hands on Dempsey?"

Jackie gritted her teeth. "Maybe Derrick would want to know about you and your little affair."

"Is that a threat?"

Jackie almost backed down. Truthfully, she had never been so bold and cutthroat. "Could be."

Massie stared at Jackie. Part of her wanted to crack her in the mouth, but that wouldn't do any good. Another part of her wanted to beg her not to say anything. But she knew better.

"We'll see about that," Massie said. Then she turned around and walked out of Barneys, without bothering to take the earrings off – or pay for them.

**Westchester, NY**

**Sunday, December 1****st**

**The Westchester Mall**

**11:25 AM**

Dylan was not in the mood for shopping, but she wound up going to the Westchester anyway.

Right now she was trying on ridiculously tacky evening gowns. She was too short to fit into them – they pooled at her feet and wrinkled around her toes. The saleswoman kept tapping on her door and asking her if she needed help. Dylan would have told her to eff off any other day, but she didn't. She was in too good of a mood.

Dylan glanced at her phone sitting in her purse. She kept expecting Chelsea to text her for an expensive new Chanel hobo, but she didn't. Her phone remained unblinking and asleep.

Dylan zipped on an absurd peacock-green dress covered in feathers. Sequins embellished the back. Dylan marched out her stall to get a closer look at the big mirror outside. Instead, she came face to face with Alicia Rivera.

Alicia was modeling a pair of jeans. She didn't see Dylan at first, and when she did her eyes opened wide. They hadn't spoken in weeks. Massie had banned the other girls from talking to the ex-PC members.

But Dylan felt inclined to break that rule. So she said, "Hey."

Alicia stared straight at her and didn't say anything for a while. Her brown eyes were huge. Without mascara, she looked a lot younger. The jeans looked too big for her. Three visible blue veins ran up her arm. Up close, Alicia did not look like the kind of girl who made out with guys in bathrooms. She looked sad. And lonely.

"Did you hear about Chelsea?" Dylan tried again.

Alicia nodded. "Yeah," she said.

There was a long silence.

"I did sleep with Kemp," Alicia said.

Dylan's cheeks burned red. She had always known this, but hearing Alicia say it out loud was a totally different thing.

"I shouldn't have played innocent this whole time," Alicia mumbled. And that was that. If there was anything Dylan knew about Alicia, it was that she would never admit to anything more.

**Westchester, NY**

**Monday, December 2****nd**

**The Doyle School: Passing Period**

**10:21 AM**

The whole grade would be spending a period in the assembly hall, listening to Principal Ross talk about the Rome trip. Needless to say, everyone was excited about it.

Massie was not. In fact, it was the last thing she could think about as of right now.

Derrick slammed her locker door, hard. His face was up close. "Did you kiss Dempsey?"

Massie jumped, startled. "Jackie told you?!" she cried.

"That doesn't matter," Derrick shouted. Mackenzie Perkins and her troupe of Blair-wannabes stood nearby, whispering. "You cheated on me!"

Massie opened her mouth, but Derrick continued on. "I thought you changed from what happened at the beginning of the year. But you haven't. You're still the same old Massie Block. You're still a selfish, spoiled, brat."

A few tears landed on her arm. When had she started crying? "It was just a couple times," she shouted desperately.

"_Just_ a couple times?" Derrick yelled. He started to say something, but he just shook his head. "I – I can't do this anymore," he said. "We're over."

**Westchester, NY**

**Monday, December 2****nd**

**The Doyle School: Lunch**

**12:03 PM**

Tessa nearly crashed into Chris in the cafeteria. "Oh, sorry," she said.

"No problem." Chris laughed a little. "Finish all that Swedish fish already?"

"Oh, um, no. Nearly." Tessa forced herself to laugh too. It didn't feel too bad. Maybe laughing would keep her from talking and saying things like _enjoy your organic meal_ to him.

Later, as she walked back to her table, she realized how easy it was to talk to Chris now. It was soccer camp all over again. Maybe exes _could _be friends.

Maybe.

-

Claire was eating outside in the courtyard. Layne was retaking a test, and Claire couldn't face the loneliness of the cafeteria – so she had sneaked outside to eat. She ripped her sandwich into a bunch of little pieces and fed it to the pigeons. She wasn't hungry.

She heard footsteps behind her. It was Josh.

He stopped.

"Hi," she said.

Josh coughed. "Hey, Claire. What's up?"

"Nothing. I'm just…alone." She chuckled a little in spite of herself. "Want to join me?"

Josh shrugged. He threw his backpack onto the grass and sat next to her. "Why are you alone?"

Claire shrugged. She really did not know herself. "So. How are you and Alicia?"

"You heard about Sumiko's?" he asked, flinching. "God, that is so fucking embarrassing."

Claire nudged a piece of bread towards a rather pitiful-looking pigeon with hardly any wings. She didn't say anything. "Are you getting back with Alicia?" she asked without thinking.

Josh shrugged. He didn't seem to mind her question. "I'm still not really sure."

They sat in silence for a while. Finally, Claire stood up and gathered up her things. "Do you want to have lunch again? Tomorrow?"

There was silence. Finally Josh said, "Okay."

**AN: **After months of delay and procrastination, I cracked open my old laptop and started tickling the keyboard. My creative juices are flowing once again! My writer's block is over! :)

Anyway, since you guys are super awesome, I've rewarded you with not one, but _two _chapters! I wrote the first one awhile back, but never got around to publishing it – but now I am!

_Will Massie and Derrick ever get back together? Is Massie going to slit Jackie's throat for what she did? What will happen to Chelsea? Can Tessa and Chris really just be friends? What about Josh and Claire? And is Kristen dead, because she didn't show up in this chapter?_

Find out next time on: Infamous!


	20. the girl who had everything

**Westchester, NY**

**Thursday, December 12****th**

**United Airlines: Flight 26, Before Takeoff**

**1:43 PM**

Massie squirmed and squeezed her way into her seat, dropping her butt into the leather with a crackle. She grimaced, pulling her oversized sweatshirt down over her knees. Massie closed her eyes and slumped down. She felt more and more blah these days. She wasn't even talking that much anymore. Not that anyone even noticed. As of right now, Massie was half-heartedly dragging herself through a relationship with rebound-bf Dempsey and avoiding Derrick.

At all costs.

"Why are we even going to Rome after the _Chelsea_ thing?" Kristen dropped her voice to a low whisper when she said Chelsea's name, as if it were a bad word.

"For god's sake, Kristen, you can say her name. It's not like she's Voldemort," Dylan took off her hot pink headphones, dropping them in her lap. "Let's call her She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Dylan said in a spooky voice.

Claire, who was sitting in the row behind them, giggled under her breath.

Massie flipped through a copy of _Teen Vogue_ with the energy of a three-legged dying turtle. She was kinda pissed that her friends seemed over the whole thing. Here they were, making _Harry Potter _jokes and laughing. Why weren't they more…you know, depressed?

"Good afternoon, passengers. This is your pilot. We're going to take off in about three minutes, so fasten your seatbelts. Please shut off your electronic devices and prepare for flight. Beverages will be served in an hour. Thank you for choosing United Airlines and…"

At the front of the plane, Tessa slammed down the lid of her laptop. The plane began humming, and the seats shook. "I need to pee," she whispered.

"Well, don't pee on me." Jackie gripped the armrests and squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh my god, this is so scary."

The plane tilted forward. Slowly but surely, it made its way off the ground and into the air. Jackie leaned back in her seat, her face a deathly shade of green.

"I found a barf bag in the pocket seat," Tessa offered helpfully, fanning a white lunch sack in the air. "Oh wait, is there something in here?"

Aly was two rows down, fiddling with her gold chain bracelet. "So am I just kidding myself?" she sighed to the old lady sitting next to her. "I mean, I didn't really dump him but we're apart anyway. He cheated on me too, but that was after I pretend-dumped him." She sighed. "He's nice and cute and really, really, sweet and not at all douchey. But…"

"He sounds like a lovely young man," the old woman said. She took out a ball of yarn and a half-finished scrap of fabric. "But what I've learned from lovely young men is that there's always another girl out there who wants them just as bad as you!"

Aly stared. "You're right," she echoed. She craned her neck to search out Alicia, but she was nowhere in sight.

Alicia isn't the only one who wants what she wants. But Aly didn't know that. Yet.

"Why are you going to Rome?" Aly asked the old lady.

"I'm visiting my grandson," she responded. Her knitting sticks clicked together loudly.

"That's nice."

"His wife is quite the dreadful one," the woman continued. "Quite a nasty piece of work. Definitely not the one I imagined for him. She's a wild thing, actually. Into all sorts of kooky things. She runs a cheese shop, did you know? Anyway, I won't be there for long. I can't stand the smell of her - "

"I have to pee." Aly unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. She wiggled her way out the row and down the aisle. The bathroom door was tiny. It looked more like the entrance to a leprechaun house. Aly scrunched her nose. She hated airplane bathrooms.

Once she swept open the door, however, she hit something. Aly kept on pushing. If she didn't pee right now she'd probably wet herself in front of all her classmates which was not an option.

"Ohmygod." There was a shriek. "Who is that?"

The door slammed loudly. It thudded once, twice, three times against the wall. Alicia was sitting on the counter with her shirt riding up her stomach. Kemp's hands were crawling up her skirt. When he saw Aly, he immediately slid them out.

Aly blanched in horror. "We haven't even been in the air for twenty minutes."

Alicia smoothed down her hair and hopped down from the counter. "We'll finish this later," she told Kemp, dragging him out by the hand.

**Rome, Italy**

**Thursday, December 12****th**

**Air One Airlines: The Airport**

**10:07 PM**

Sluggish from the jet-lag, the Doyle students claimed their luggage from the conveyor belt and went outside to wait for their taxis.

The narrow streets of Rome were buzzing with people and cars, beeping and honking. Old-timey buildings lined the streets, and lampposts dotted the sidewalks. The air was hot and humid, even though it was nighttime.

A guy in a little red Vespa zipped past them. "It's just like in the movies," Dylan said, snapping a picture with her camera phone.

"The hotel is just a block away," Principal Burns squawked. She glanced at her watch. "Right on time!"

Everyone began shuffling down the street, dragging their suitcases rather slowly. Together they formed into one huge, sweatpants-clad, jet-lagged group of tourists.

"How are you?" Dempsey asked, throwing his arm around Massie. "I can't wait for tomorrow. This is going to be so fun. We can ride the gondola at night."

Massie didn't say anything.

"Kemp already told me he's throwing a party when we get to the hotel," Dempsey whispered. "Want to be my date?"

Massie still didn't say anything. Instead, she searched out Derrick in the crowd. She spotted him walking next to someone, a girl-shaped figure pulling a crocodile-embossed suitcase. Massie shrugged Dempsey's hand off her shoulder. "Um…I'm on my period," she said.

"Ohhh," Dempsey said, as if that explained everything. "I get it."

Hotel Eden was a small orange-hued building with little windows and balconies poking out at every angle. The hotel faced a lovely canal of water filled with couples floating past in gondola boats. As the students approached it, they could hear one of the gondoliers singing loudly in Italian.

"Isn't this exquisite?" Principal Burns opened her fanny pack and pulled out her map of Rome. "Students! We should be checking in shortly, but before we do, I want to go over some ground rules first."

Everyone groaned. Even on vacation there were rules.

"Girls and boys CANNOT share rooms," she bellowed, her beady bird-like eyes eyeing Kemp knowingly. "No sneaking around after dark. No leaving your room after nine oh clock. No drinking. No partying. No _nothing_, got it? Tomorrow we're going sightseeing at the Spanish Steps. Breakfast will be downstairs in the dining room. Wake up late and you don't get breakfast."

Principal Burns smiled, satisfied with her speech. This time she was tightening the reins. Private school teenagers were so _unruly – _they needed someone to show them who was boss.

No more catfights or school scandals. This would be a perfectly relaxing school trip, filled with sightseeing and tourist attractions.

**Rome, Italy**

**Thursday, December 12****th**

**Hotel Eden: Level 18**

**10:34 PM**

"Party in my room in five!" Kemp shouted.

A loud whooping sound filled the hallways as flocks of Doyle studens fled their rooms, armed with booze they had grabbed from the mini-fridges. The boys were on the eighteenth floor, the girls on the seventeenth. But news spread fast – before you knew it, Kemp's hotel room was jam-packed.

Alicia emerged from the hallway. She was wearing a lacy black camisole and fire-engine red lipstick. She appeared at Kemp's side, grabbing his collar. "Come with me," she said.

"Hey, sweet cheeks," Kemp said. "I didn't know you were – "

Alicia pulled him into the bathroom, her back banging against the shower door. They fell against the glass, giggling. Without any warning, Kemp shoved his tongue down Alicia's mouth.

Alicia kissed him for a while, but it wasn't long before she just wasn't feeling it anymore. "I need some air," she whispered.

"What for?" Kemp asked. He snaked his arms around her waist, struggling to pull off her camisole.

"I don't know," she replied wearily. She had done this so many times with Kemp before – it was starting to develop into an annoying pattern. "Can we do this later?"

"Yeah," Kemp said. It was more of a noise than a response.

Alicia sighed. "Just stop," she said, pushing him off.

"Why?" Kemp was impatient, but he stepped away from her.

"I'm sick of being your little slut," Alicia said without thinking. "It used to be fun, but…"

"It's what you do, isn't it?" Kemp wiggled his eyebrows. "You sleep around with guys just to feel closer to them, but nothing can fill that void. You're stuck in the same cycle, Leesh. You might as well get used to it." He stared into her eyes with a knowing look.

The way Kemp was looking at her was making Alicia feel funny. She sucked in her breath. "See you later," she snapped, pushing past him and out the door.

**Rome, Italy**

**Thursday, December 12****th**

**Hotel Eden: Level 18**

**11:13 PM**

Massie showed up at the party a half-hour late, intending to get as drunk as possible. But as soon as she spotted Dempsey across the room, she knew the real reason why she was here.

Why? Massie thought as she made her way towards him, snatching a beer out of the cooler. Why was she always being pulled back and forth between Dempsey and Derrington? Why was it so hard for her to settle down? And why was it that she could only be happy dating both of them?

The faint scent of cinnamon-breath tickled her nose. Dempsey wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, you," he said. "Where've you been?"

Massie took a deep breath. "Can we talk somewhere else?"

She was surprised at the voice that came out of her. It was a little deeper, a little more real. Was that her real voice? Or was it the fake one?

Massie spotted a sliding glass door leading out to a roomy stone balcony. She led Dempsey towards it, slamming the door to sound-proof their conversation.

"Nice to see you talking again," Dempsey said, leaning in for a kiss.

Massie decided not to disappoint Dempsey. She let him kiss her for a moment, and then she pulled back. "We need to talk," she said.

"Yeah?"

"We shouldn't go out anymore."

Dempsey didn't look like he understood. "What do you mean?"

Massie sighed. She felt really tired. It must be the jet lag. "I just don't think we should date."

Dempsey blinked. "What…why would you say that? We finally become a real couple and you break it off? Why would you do that?"

Massie thought back to the time Jackie confronted her in Barneys, threatening to spill the beans about Derrington. She used to be mad, but now she didn't have the strength anymore. "It doesn't feel right," she replied, unscrewing her bottle of beer.

"Come on, Massie. Don't be like this. I don't know what's wrong with you lately. First you want to make out all the time, then you say we should start going out even though Derrick found out about us, then you stop talking, and now you're saying we should break up. Is this about Chelsea? I know it's really messed-up, and if you need to talk – "

"It's not about Chelsea," Massie snapped. She hated the topic of Chelsea. "I don't want to talk about it. Like I said, I'm PMSing."

"Then why are we breaking up? You need to give me a reason!" Dempsey said, indignant.

"Look, I don't need to give you a reason." She took a swig of beer. It was a funny, bitter taste, but it was alright.

"Yes, you do. It doesn't make sense if – "

"It's just the feel of it!" Massie shouted. "It feels weird! Like..."

"What?"

"Okay," she said, finally getting it. "It feels like you're a…bracelet. But a cheap one I bought on impulse. And now I want the _real _thing."

"What?" Dempsey just looked more confused. "Are you saying I'm worthless?"

Massie didn't answer. She was too busy thinking. "I have to go," she said, heading for the door.

"Wait, what? Massie, we have to talk!"

"See you later," Massie replied. She had to leave. She had to do something.

"But – "

Massie didn't hear the rest. She was already gone. She took off back into the hotel room.

"Massie!" Dempsey was still shouting behind her. She ignored him. She didn't want to see Dempsey anymore. She knew who she wanted.

Out the room, into the hall, and down the elevator, Massie ran like the wind. Her oversized sweatshirt was making her warm, so she took that off as she ran. One of her Miu Miu sequined flats fell off her foot as she sprinted down the hall. "I'll come back for you later!" she yelled at her shoe.

Massie banged on the first door with all her might. Josh opened up. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Where's Derrick?"

"He's in the last room," Josh said. Behind him, Claire lay on the bed eating popcorn and watching the TV screen. Massie decided to ignore this. For now.

"Fine. Thanks."

"Are you okay? You look… messy."

Massie shrugged carelessly. "Bye, Josh," she said. Without bothering to wait for his reply, she dashed down the hall.

Derrington's room was 207. There was a _Do Not Disturb _sign hanging from the doorknob. She ripped the sign off and let it drift to the floor. There was an uneasy feeling blooming in her stomach.

The door was unlocked. Massie opened it and stopped dead in her tracks.

Derrick sat on the couch with a girl in his lap, and they were kissing. The girl was wearing a slutty purple dress with nothing underneath it. They were giggling like a bunch of retards. Four empty bottles of beer lay on the carpet.

Derrick stopped feeling up the slutty purple girl long enough to notice Massie standing there. "Uh, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"What am I doing here?" Massie repeated. For the love of God, she didn't know.

"This is Hanna," Derrick said awkwardly, wrapping an arm around Hanna's waist. Hanna wiggled her acrylic nails at Massie.

"You're so cute, Masssssie," Hanna said, drawing out the S in Massie's name. She tossed her long mane of hair over one shoulder.

"So, um, why are you here?" Derrick repeated.

"I just came to say…never mind. It's not important."

"Are you sure? It must be important enough for you in burst in like that." Derrick laughed lightly, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable.

"It's fine." Massie didn't have the energy to unleash her wrath upon these two. She could have told Hanna to put on some real clothes or Derrick to keep it in his pants, but she didn't.

And as she hurried out of the room, her face flaming red with embarrassment, she wondered how her timing could be any worse.

**AN: **I finally updated again! Whoo-hoo! I didn't forget about this story, just so you know. :D The plot lines are a little screwy though, so it'll be some time before I update again.

How about a little survey for the story: who's your favorite _Infamous _character?


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